Possibilities
by John Reed
Summary: After the season finale, the possibilities are endless. This is only one of them...
1. Chapter 1

_Thanks to ThirteenXSeventeenXNineteen who did Beta work on this story. Her help is appreciated (someone needs to keep an eye on what I do here...)_

* * *

><p><strong>This story begins where the Season Finale ended...<strong>

The Pain and the Call

It was too much. First, the pain was unbearable – worse than last time. Second, she had killed Brian.

"Chloe…" Amy hesitated.

"He kissed me." Chloe said, looking at her friend with eyes that reflected her pain and sadness. It was hard to understand the Uniter; she was having trouble speaking.

Amy bit her lip. "What can we do?"

"I need help," the Uniter managed to say.

"Ok. I'll call Alek"

"No." Chloe said quickly. "Jasmine." She immediately regretted it. She was sure Alek would come, and now Amy was going to know that something was wrong between her and the Mai guy, but she didn't have the strength to take it back.

Amy stared briefly, but nodded and pushed the buttons.

Paul was staring at Chloe, but speaking softly to Amy. "Blood."

Amy turned look at Chloe again. Her eyes widened as she saw the blood this time. She almost had her phone to her ear, but pulled it back down as she ran to her friend. Though it was a little awkward because Chloe was sitting on steps and Brian was lying there, Amy knelt next to Chloe. She touched her friend's arm, but pulled back when she felt Chloe flinch.

"Chloe, what happened?"

"I was shot … I need help." She was still having trouble speaking.

"Call an ambulance," Paul said quickly.

"No," Chloe argued. "Call Jasmine."

Amy sided with Paul. "But you could die!"

Chloe took as deep a breath as she could while her friends stared. "I already did. Call Jasmine."

Amy hesitated as the message sank in, then almost pushed the buttons on her phone before she remembered that she had already called. She moved the phone to her ear, asking "Why are you alone. Isn't someone always supposed to be with you?"

Chloe ignored the question and turned her attention back to Brian, though Amy's comment reminded her that she and her friends weren't safe. The woman that shot her could easily come back.

Paul hadn't gotten very close, he had only watched from a distance, but something suddenly occurred to him. "She said that last time she had to get up and run away before the assassin could get down the stairs of the tower. She should be able to ..."

"Paul!" Amy interrupted, then said "Chloe needs help. Call." into her phone, Jasmine's phone having going to voicemail.

"It's worse this time," Chloe said, answering Paul. Her voice was getting stronger, but she still couldn't force herself to pull away from Brian.

"Voicemail," Amy said. "I'll call Alek,"

Chloe almost shook her head, but gave in. "OK," she whispered. Her attention was back on Brain now. She moved her hand to stroke his face. It took more concentration than she expected, and it hurt to move, but she was able to do it. She could feel herself getting stronger, though the pain was still there, and Brian was still dead.

* * *

><p><span>The Brother and the Key<span>

'Brother?' Alek thought. It made him hesitate for a second, he could see that Zane didn't have a weapon in either hand - both were clearly visible.

"Is my brother a murderer?" Alek asked.

"Your brother is a …" Zane began before Alek moved against him. Alek didn't want to hear it, didn't care.

As they fought, Alek noticed the bloody knife on the floor near Jasmine. As he moved for it, he could tell that Zane was trying to beat him to it. The scuffle continued, and there was a lot of noise from the furniture being pushed aside or the decorations falling to the floor, but it became suddenly quiet when Alek reached the knife first and had it in his hand. Zane froze.

Alek stared at Zane briefly, trying to decide which way to move, when he heard her say his name.

"Alek." It was so soft it could not even be called a whisper. His eyes went to Valentina briefly before he heard Zane move.

Alek had only glanced back to Zane before seeing him go through the door. He didn't consider following for very long. Instead he dropped the knife and moved to look at Valentina's face. Her eyes were open, but she seemed frozen.

"What can I do?" he asked.

"Bathroom. Red…vial."

He knew where she meant. She had a private bathroom. It had been made clear to him years before that he was not allowed to enter it, but he knew that was where she wanted him to go – he knew there was no such item in the others.

He frantically looked through the cabinets and drawers until he found a red syringe. There was something in it, and he could see nothing else that might look like what she wanted, so he rushed it to her.

He was kneeling next to her, trying to decide what to with it when he heard. "Stick"

Alek grimaced. He had been hoping not to have to do that. He removed a piece of plastic that covered the needle, pulled her shirt up a little and pushed the needle into her side. He pushed it in as far as it would go before pushing the plunger down, forcing whatever was inside the syringe into her body.

It made him a little sick - he had no idea if he had done it right. There was a little blood as he pulled the empty syringe carefully out of her, but he couldn't see any of the liquid, though he wasn't sure if he was supposed to or not.

He held his breath until he saw her blinking, heard her breathing. He had no idea how much time had passed. He moved to Jasmine, trying to turn the girl over onto her back, when he heard Valentina speak softly.

"No. Chloe." It was more than a whisper, this time. He turned back to her.

"But Jasmine…" he began.

"I'll be able to move soon. I'll do what I can, but Chloe needs help now." The last word had some force behind it. She was getting stronger.

Alek nodded and ran through the door. He was almost to the stairs when he turned back, pulled out his key, and locked the door – hoping Jasmine had not given Zane a key. He then ran down the stairs.

He was headed for Chloe's house when he heard his phone.

* * *

><p><span>The Hope and the Games<span>

Chloe couldn't believe it when she felt it. Had Brian moved? She couldn't believe what she saw when she looked at him either.

"Amy!" she called, interrupting her call. "Has he opened his eyes?"

Amy was turning to look when Chloe heard Brian breathing as well.

She felt a sudden surge of energy – not that the pain was gone, but hope was back.

"Brian?" Chloe asked softly as Amy moved towards them. "Are you alive?"

She felt him try to sit up now; both she and Amy helped him.

"What happened?" he asked.

Chloe immediately pulled him into a hug, but released him and backed off a little when Amy whispered "Chloe" and shook her head.

Brian looked at Chloe with and expression that told her he was confused and hurt. She was trying to figure out what to do when Paul spoke.

"Dude, do _not _kiss her again!"

"Paul!" came from both Chloe and Amy at the same time. Both glared at him.

"Not helping," Amy said to Paul as Chloe looked back at Brian. He was sitting on the steps a couple of feet away from her. He was looking at Paul and Amy as well, but then turned back to Chloe with a questioning expression.

Chloe grimaced as she said "But he's right. Please, don't do that again." She wanted to add 'at least until I can figure out why you're alive,' but thought better of it. Then she saw where he was looking – at the blood on her shirt.

She looked away and pushed herself up. It was hard, she still hurt, but she did it. She thought about trying to help Brian up, but instead said "Paul, see if he can get up."

"We need to go." Chloe added, moving towards the door. "The woman who shot me might still be here."

"I think I saw her leave," Paul said. "I saw someone get in a car and drive away."

Chloe was at a door by now, trying to stretch herself without increasing the pain she still felt, waiting impatiently for the others to catch up. "Still, we need to go to Valentina. She needs to know."

Chloe was quickly outside, looking at two cars – Amy's and Brian's – trying to decide what to do when she heard Amy's phone behind her.

"Alek," Amy said, then offered her phone to Chloe. "Do you want to...?"

Chloe was still embarrassed by what Alek had overheard earlier when she told her mother she thought she was in love with Brian. She shook her head.

"No. Tell him…" She tried to concentrate and finally said "tell him we're going to Valentina's. Tell him to find my mom."

"Your mom? Chloe, he needs to know and you need help now."

"Don't tell him I died again." The Uniter quickly said, speaking softly, hoping Brian wouldn't hear. "Tell him to go to my mom. She might be in danger." She was really trying to justify not seeing him just yet when she said it, but then she got a feeling that it might be true.

Amy quickly answered, hoping she hadn't waited too long. She hadn't, Alek was there, but not happy.

"Not really in the mood for games. Where's Chloe?"

Amy cringed a little at the harshness of his voice, but did as Chloe asked. "She's on her way to Valentina's now, but she needs you to find her mom."

"Valentina's isn't safe. Where's Chloe?"

Amy looked desperately at Chloe, who was trying very hard not to look at Brian. Brian was staring at her.

"He says Valentina's isn't safe."

Chloe closed her eyes and rubbed her head with her palm, trying to think. Valentina's not safe? What could that mean?

"Then tell him to go to my house."

Amy repeated the message into the phone. Alek's response was harsh.

"Is she kidding? Someone is trying to kill her! Kill all of us! Where is she?"

"Someone did kill her!" Amy yelled back into the phone, then cringed at her words.

She looked at Chloe, who was rubbing her head again. Alek was silent, then gone – no longer on his phone.

"He hung up," she said more to herself than anyone else.

Chloe couldn't stand this anymore. If nothing else, she needed to get away from all of this, all of them. She ran towards home, leaving the others behind to sort things out for themselves.

She slowed to a walk when she was near home. She pulled her own phone out, and hesitated, finally deciding to text rather than call. She knew that what her mother was doing was a big deal – she didn't want to interrupt. Plus, she really wasn't sure she wanted her mother to see her in this condition. But the Uniter was worried. She needed to be sure her mom was safe.

* * *

><p><span>The Mom and the Offer<span>

Meredith thought everything was going as well as she hoped. Whitley seemed receptive to whatever she said. It was in a quiet moment that her phone vibrated. She didn't hesitate to look at it.

"Chloe's home, and apparently worried about me."

"Chloe?" Whitley asked.

"My daughter."

"Chloe King." Whitley said softly. Then looked Meredith. "Do you want to skip this last part and go home?"

"Would it be terrible?" Meredith asked.

"Not at all. I'm sold on you. We can drive you straight home," He offered.

"But my car's back at the restaurant."

"I can have my son deliver it to you tomorrow. I just need a key and an address."

Meredith considered the offer. They were actually closer to home, it would save some time. And Chloe's text had made it sound like her daughter was worried.


	2. Chapter 2

_Wow...she did it again. ThirteenXSeventeenXNineteen did Beta work on this chapter. You should be grateful, I certainly am..._

The Lives

"You've got to be kidding me," Amy complained as Chloe ran away. She was watching Chloe, but heard Brian yell "Chloe, wait!"

Amy knew she wouldn't be able to catch Chloe on foot. Really, she wasn't sure she wanted to. Chloe was acting a little erratic and someone had just tried to kill her.

"We need to go after her!" Brian said, running to his car. Before he entered, he looked back at Amy and Paul.

"Are you up to driving?" Paul asked while he was going to Amy's car. "We did just scrape you off the floor..."

Brian didn't respond. He just looked briefly, then climbed into his car and tried to follow her.

"Come on," Paul said, climbing into Amy's car. "Let's go."

"Go where?" Amy asked. "We don't know where she's going."

"Follow her, or go to her house. Wherever."

"But someone's trying to kill her!" Amy argued. "What if they come after us?"

Paul had still not entered the car. He was talking to Amy over the roof of her car as she just stood by the door, not having opened it yet.

"You've never thought about that before."

"They've never shot at her before," Amy fired back. "We don't have nine lives."

Paul gave her a look that showed he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He shook his head and said, "Neither does she. Not anymore," as he slammed the door shut and started running in the same direction Chloe had gone.

"Where are you going?" Amy called after him, though she knew. She watched him briefly, before muttering "Fine!", entering her car, and driving after him.

* * *

><p><span>More and Merry<span>

Running had helped, but now that Chloe had stopped, she could feel the pain again. She looked at her house from her hiding place, trying to remember how long the pain had lasted the first time she had died. It was so hard to remember.

She had kept changing her mind about her mom. First she decided her home was the safest place to be, so had texted her mom, hinting for her to come home. Then she worried that if there was trouble at Valentina's, there could be trouble waiting for her at home as well. It was so hard to think clearly through the pain that she still felt.

She had closed her eyes for a minute, trying to decide if it had been a good idea to come here, when she heard his voice speaking softly.

"She's here - at her home. But she's hurt, we'll need more help."

She quickly opened her eyes. She wasn't afraid, she knew Alek's voice and she knew she would never have anything to fear from him. Still, she knew she had hurt him earlier, and that made her nervous. She looked to eyes, only to find that his were looking at the bloodstain.

"It's true," Alek whispered, raising his eyes to look into hers. "It happened again."

She felt tears starting to form in her eyes, but she couldn't look away. She only nodded.

She was afraid he would still be hurt, be angry. If he was, it didn't show – she only saw concern on his face. He pulled her into a gentle hug, which she quickly returned.

"You came," she whispered, "even after…everything."

"I always will," Alek replied softly, and he resolved to do it. His guilt at leaving Chloe alone was relieved only slightly by the fact that he had interrupted the attack on Valentina and Jasmine.

She forgot her problems and the pain briefly, until he said, "We need to get you someplace safe."

He didn't release her and she didn't push away. "Where's safe, Alek?"

He didn't respond immediately, so she stepped back and looked into his eyes again. "Why isn't your home safe?"

His face hardened. "Zane. He poisoned Valentina, tried to kill her. Maybe he did kill Jasmine."

Chloe's face fell. "Oh, Alek. But ….?" She really didn't know what to ask.

"Valentina's OK. I guess she had an antidote to the poison and was able to lead me to it. I don't know about Jasmine – Valentina sent me after you before…"

She waited for him to finish, but he didn't. "I'm so sorry."

"And I'm sorry I left you alone. No more. Now, we need to get you someplace safe."

Chloe rubbed her head. "I think my mom is coming. I don't want her to be alone here."

Alek studied her briefly before saying, "You're still in pain from…" Again he trailed off.

Chloe just looked away.

"Chloe, I'm sorry, but you're at your most vulnerable right now. I can't believe they didn't try to kill you again."

Chloe just looked down. "I think she was interrupted. Brian was there when I came back, then Amy and Paul."

The mention of Brian made Alek flinch, but he quickly had control of himself again. "It's not safe for you here, Chloe."

"But my mom is coming." She repeated. "I won't leave her here alone, especially if it's not safe."

Alek was trying to think of a response when they both heard the car pull up and stop at Chloe's house. They turned to watch as Brian jumped out.

Chloe didn't dare look at Alek, too nervous about what his reaction would be.

"We can't let him go to the door," she whispered. "Not until we're sure it's safe."

"His choice," Alek whispered back. "We'll soon know."

"Alek…" Chloe started to whisper. Brian was still by his car, though looking around and calling her name, but she could tell he was about to go up the steps.

She cut herself off when the limousine pulled up.

Both Mai watched as Brian turned to see Whitley climb out of the car, followed by Chloe's mother.

"Dad?" Brian asked. "What are you…?"

"Brian," Meredith interrupted, noticing that he was upset. "What's wrong? Are you with Chloe?"

Brian was looking at his father, but since he didn't speak, he answered Meredith. "I was. I took her someplace, but she wouldn't let me go inside with her. Then I heard shots so I ran after her. I found her lying on the stairs. I thought she was dead."

"Dead?" Meredith cried. She hadn't really understood his babbling, but she heard that word.

"She wasn't," he quickly said, realizing he was probably saying too much, but this was her mother. "She opened her eyes. I was so relieved, I kissed her."

"You kissed her?" Whitley asked sharply.

Brian didn't quite understand his father's reaction, so he kept speaking to Meredith. "I guess I passed out or something and when I woke up, she had other friends with her, but she was upset. When we got to the cars, she just ran away. I tried to follow her, but couldn't find her, so I came here."

Meredith glanced at Whitley, but he was staring at Brian, looking shocked. "She texted me and seemed upset, so I came back. Is she here?"

Brian was looking at his father as well, but he answered her question. "I don't know. I haven't knocked yet."

"No!" Whitley interrupted. "We need to go."

"But Chloe…" Brian started as his father started pushing him into the limo.

"Should be left alone with her mother." Whitley said decisively. "She texted, she's probably inside. We need to go!"

"My car is here," the younger Rezza argued.

"And you will need it here when you bring Ms. King's car by tomorrow morning." Then he turned to Meredith. "I'll be in touch, and you will have your car waiting here for you in the morning." He then climbed in after his son and the limo drove away.

Meredith had found the confrontation so odd that she stared after the limo briefly before saying "Chloe" and turning towards the steps.

Before she had reached them, she felt a gentle pull on her arm. "Mrs. King." She turned to see Alek. When she followed his pointing finger, she saw Chloe. She released a sigh of relief and quickly ran across the street, but stopped short when she saw the bloody shirt Chloe wore.

"Chloe!"

"Mom, I'm OK." Chloe quickly said.

"How can you say that after I just heard you were shot? Is that your blood?"

Chloe just bit her lip, so Meredith continued. "We need to get you to a hospital."

Chloe shook her head. "Mom, no. I'm fine."

"No you're not! I can hear the pain in your voice, see it in your face." She reached for Chloe's arm. Alek could tell she was about to pull the Uniter away, so he quickly grabbed Meredith's wrist and stopped it short.

"Alek…" Chloe started at the same time as Meredith challenged "Don't you dare…."

"They can't help her. She just needs time."

Meredith was glaring at Alek, about to say something when Chloe interrupted, "Mom, please. He's right. I can't go there."

Meredith was staring at her daughter, when Alek spoke to Chloe, "Well, your mother's not here alone now. We should go someplace safe."

"But other Mai are coming, aren't they?" Chloe asked.

"We'll tell them where to go – they'll follow."

"Alek, this is my …" but Chloe stopped speaking as she saw Amy's car pull up. "Not them too."

"I'll get them." Alek said a little bitterly. "The more the merrier."

Chloe closed her eyes and inhaled as he ran across the street again. When she opened them, her mother was looking at her with an expression that she couldn't read and didn't want to.

* * *

><p><span>What He Did, What She Said<span>

Brian wanted to argue with his father, but it just wasn't his nature, as much as he was trying to change that. It wouldn't do any good anyway; his father would never agree to go back. At least, if he understood right, he would be able to return to Chloe's house tomorrow.

It was deathly quiet in the car. Whitley's expression hadn't changed much, and Brian didn't understand at all what he was thinking. When Whitley finally did speak, he said something completely unexpected. "You kissed the girl."

"Yeah," Brian answered, unsure of what to add.

"And she let you." Another statement, but not quite right. Though he was confused by what his father was saying, he felt the need to go to Chloe's defense.

"No. It was just an impulse. I don't think she knew I was going to do it."

Whitley looked at him with a look that showed he didn't understand.

Brian closed his eyes, shook his head and said "She's always stopped me when I tried to before. And after I woke back up, she told me to never do it again."

Whitley looked shocked again as he asked, "She told you not to kiss her again? She's stopped you from kissing her before?"

Suddenly Brian was embarrassed. He turned away and just nodded his head.

Brian did turn back when Whitley told him, "She's right. Don't do that again."

Whitley was looking away from his son now. He no longer looked shocked, just thoughtful.

* * *

><p><span>The Argument<span>

Alek and Chloe were speaking very softly, but, as happened so often, they were arguing.

"We can't risk it." Alek said. "We have no idea who is around here or what they know about you."

"It's my home." Chloe argued. "Where else am I going to go?"

"We'll find someplace," the Mai guy responded.

"I can't hide forever and I don't want to. No one has ever attacked me in my home."

Alek glared at her. "Are you forgetting texting me? Hiding in the closet?"

Chloe had to close her eyes and rub her head. "They were human. None of my mortal enemies have ever been in my home."

"Except Kai," Paul interjected. "He was in your bedroom and aren't Jackals and Mai…" he cut himself of when he saw Chloe and Amy both glaring at him. Meredith and Alek looked first at him, then Chloe, with what was probably an expression of shock.

"Paul," Amy said softly, though sharply, "I may not have claws, but I swear, if you don't shut up, I will personally claw your eyes out."

Alek eventually spoke into the silence that followed. "Chloe, we're too noisy, too vulnerable here. We have to either leave, or risk going inside."

"Then inside." Chloe decided.

Alek nodded, though the Uniter could see he was not really happy about it. "I'll go check it out first."

"We'll go – you and me," Chloe said.

Alek just looked at her, seeing that she wasn't back to normal - wasn't feeling any better, but wondering if he should bother arguing with her anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

Repairing the Damage

Chloe was sitting in the living room of her home, resting. Resting and thinking.

As soon as she and Alek entered, he tried to get her to let him check out the house on his own. She stayed with him as they checked the downstairs, but she let him go upstairs alone. She was tired, still hurting and was happy to let him do this himself. Really, she would have been happy to wait for him outside with the others, but she wanted to be alone with him for a few minutes, and she thought that she would be able to do that while her family and friends waited outside. What she really wanted was another chance to explain to him about what he overheard earlier. She had to make him understand.

So while her body was resting, her mind was working, trying to come up with a way to explain what she had really meant, an explanation that wouldn't make him just walk out on her - again.

She didn't pay attention to any of the sounds around her until she heard Alek coming down the stairs. She was instantly alert, listening, hearing not only him, but also something above them.

She was quickly up and going up the stairs where she grabbed Alek's arm and tried to pull him up with her. "On the roof," she whispered. He stopped when she grabbed him, but did not follow her. "Someone's up there."

Alek nodded. "Jesse. Janelle's outside on the ground. Help has arrived, and another is coming."

She nodded, relieved, and turned around to walk down the stairs with him.

"You need to slow down and get some rest now," Alek said as they finished their descent to the bottom of the steps.

"I know. I will."

She hoped he would stay with her for just a minute without her asking, but he immediately headed for the door saying, "I'll let the others know they can come in."

"Alek," she quickly said before he reached the door. "Please, can we talk for just a minute?" She had not wanted to say 'talk', he had never been receptive when she used that word. She was afraid that he thought of it as some kind of code word that meant she was going to try to explain away something she had done that she knew would hurt him.

Still, she hadn't been able to think of a different word, and it was out there now.

He didn't say anything, but he did turn to face her, looking at her expectantly.

"I need to explain what you heard here earlier today."

"I heard you say that you're in love with Brian." His voice was emotionless. It scared her a little. Ever since he had found her earlier that evening, near her home, hurt, his voice had been gentle, caring, concerned, even at times combative, but never emotionless. Still, she had to ignore that, she had to try to convey the message.

"Those were the words, but they didn't mean what you think." She did her best to maintain eye contact, but his eyes were as emotionless as his voice now.

"I've always told you the truth, Alek. I don't know what I feel."

He did respond to this, though still without emotion. "You said differently to your mother."

"I didn't tell her everything," Chloe answered. She knew her voice reflected the physical and emotional pain she was feeling right then, but she didn't try to control that. She was concentrating on the message.

"I feel something for Brian, but you know that. I also have feelings for you, I've hoped you know that. I don't understand what I feel for either of you and I honestly don't know what I want."

She closed her eyes suddenly and rubbed her head. "No," she said before opening them again, relieved that he was still there when she looked back up. "I know one thing I want, and I think you know that I want it too. I want to not to have the feelings I have for Brian."

She paused briefly to let him react, but he didn't.

"My mom was leaving, but insisted on talking about … this. She said she thought I knew who I loved. I didn't think I really had time to explain it all to her, so I asked her a question. I told her I thought I was in love with Brian, but that I don't want to be."

She worried that saying 'love' and 'Brian' so close together would make him leave again, but he stayed.

"Alek," she said, knowing she sounded a little desperate, "I wasn't saying that I am in love with Brian. I was asking her how to make the feelings I have for him stop. I know that what you've told me before is true – that if the feelings for him don't go away, someone will get hurt."

Alek's face softened at least, but he still didn't speak. She was actually glad for that, there were generally words from him about mistakes or being done with the conversation just before he left. He was hearing her out.

"I don't know what I feel for him, but I know I don't want it to be love. I know and you know that it won't work. But Alek, I don't know exactly what I feel for you either. I just know I have the feelings."

He spoke again. "You want to feel nothing for him, but you spend time with him." It was not really an emotionless tone anymore, but at least it wasn't harsh.

"I know, and I know it's not helping with any of this, but I have been able to help him with some things. Things that are important to him. But Alek, I also know that you have been there to help me every time I needed you. I would never do anything to try to hurt you. I want to be with you, I want to figure out these feelings I have for you, and I don't want anything that happens with Brian or anyone else to get in the way of that."

She waited, not really having anything else she could add, but not knowing if he understood. She was a little relieved when he spoke again

"When you came up after talking to your mom, and you found out that I heard what you said, you didn't say any of this. You just stared at me like I'd caught you in … doing something."

"I was embarrassed, Alek. You were misunderstanding, but I didn't know how to explain." She looked down briefly as she added, "sometimes I have trouble explaining things to you, and you can make me tongue-tied. You always help me, and it seems I just hurt you. I can't stand that and sometimes I just can't say things to you right. It scares me a little."

Alek waited a few seconds to see if she would continue, then nodded. "Ok. Now get some rest. I need to check on Jasmine."

He didn't approach her, so she stayed where she was and said "I will," as she nodded. He turned to leave – she barely managed to say "Alek, thanks for everything tonight and please, let me know about Jasmine," by the time he reached the door.

He opened the door before turning back to her and nodding, "I'll see you tomorrow."

She forced a smile and a nod before he turned around and went through the door.

* * *

><p><span>Asking Favors<span>

"It's safe," Alek said as he reached Meredith, Amy and Paul. "You can join Chloe inside now."

Alek managed to signal Meredith to lag behind while Paul and Amy hurried to the door. "Can we talk a minute, Mrs. King?"

Meredith didn't say anything, but turned towards him expectantly.

"I know you're upset and confused about what happened tonight."

Meredith didn't respond but, did nod, a fairly hard look on her face.

"But you have to understand, none of this is Chloe's fault."

Meredith almost spoke at this, but held back as Alek continued. "She's not who you think she is, she's not the same girl she was a few months ago. But it's not sex or drugs or gangs or whatever your worst nightmare is. That's not her."

When Meredith didn't speak, he continued. "Right now, what she is, is hurt and scared. She's afraid someone will come after her and she's worried about you. But look," he added as he pointed to someone standing in the shadows on one side of her house, "there," then he pointed to someone else near the other side as he added "and there." The he pointed higher, to a nearby roof. "Also there. Do you see them?"

Meredith nodded, looking a little shocked.

"They'll make sure no one gets to her again tonight. She's safe here." Then he made sure his eyes were looking into hers as he said, "but she's not just worried about her safety or your safety, she's worried about what you will say or do, what you will demand of her tonight."

He hesitated to make sure she was paying attention, then added "If you think I've ever done anything for you, then do a favor for me tonight. Let Chloe rest – she needs that more than anything. Work out any questions or issues you have with her later, just let her rest tonight."

Meredith hesitated only briefly before nodding her agreement, her expression considerably softer than when he had started talking to her. "I will."

The Mai teen replied, "Thank you. And now I need to check on my family. Chloe's not the only one who was hurt tonight."

Meredith watched Alek run out of sight before climbing the stairs and entering her home.

* * *

><p><span>Wondering<span>

"You assured me there would be no mistakes, yet the girl lives," Whitley said into the phone.

"Brian interrupted us." Simone said. "It's not my fault you never told him about all of this. But if she's alive, then we're sure about her. We have confirmation."

"I already had confirmation and you were to ensure she wouldn't be alive by now."

"We're taking care of it," Simone insisted.

Whitley sighed. "Brian kissed her," he said softly into the phone.

He heard the quick intake of breath before Simone paused, then finally said, "Then I'm sorry for your loss."

He decided not to tell her that Brian was alive, he decided to just keep pushing to see how far she would go. "Only humans are dying," he said.

"There's a plan in place," Simone said. "We don't have all of the information yet, some of those who protect her should be dead. But either way, she will die."

"At what price?" Whitley asked.

Simone paused briefly before responding. "Again, I'm sorry for your loss. We'll handle it."

Whitley just hung up, he didn't want to hear anymore. Now he knew, Simone knew his son was there and left him alone with the Mai Uniter. He knew she wasn't really working for him, but she had talked like she would try to keep his son safe. But she hadn't.

On the other hand, Brian had said that the girl was concerned about his safety. He had trouble believing it. Mai were not usually concerned about humans – it was one reason he considered them so dangerous. So why was Chloe so concerned about Brian?

And why hadn't Brian died when he kissed her?

There were things he needed to figure out. He was, however, beginning to wonder about all of this – he was no longer so sure that Simone was his ally, or that Chloe was his enemy.

* * *

><p><span>Learning<span>

Alek entered his home quietly, and was relieve to see Valentina just sitting, thinking. The Pride leaded did look worried, concerned, but she turned towards the door as he entered and greeted him with a smile, though it was quickly gone when stood near her. He glanced around, there were a few other Mai walking around the apartment.

"They're doing all they can for Jasmine," Valentina said. "She was seriously injured and lost a lot of blood, it's too early to tell if she'll make it."

Alek nodded in response as the Mai leader spoke again. "I was a little surprised to see you walk through the door when you did."

Alex grimaced, expecting a reprimand, so her next words surprised him. "But I'm alive because of it."

He took a deep breath and then said what he had to. "Chloe died again."

Valentina only nodded. "I suspected as much when you said she was hurt and needed help."

"I wasn't with her," Alek said. "I can't help thinking that it's my fault."

"How did she die?" Valentina asked.

It was hard to maintain eye contact, but Alek did. "She was shot."

Valentina nodded. "If you had been with her, you would probably be dead, and she would have still lost a life – maybe more. She only died once?"

Alek nodded.

"Why did they let her live?"

"She thinks they were interrupted by…by her friends."

Valentina watched him, seeing that he was filled with guilt.

"Attacked by humans, saved by humans." Valentina said softly to herself. When she noticed Alek was looking at her, she said "You and I both thought the Uniter would be more like us, would think like us. We both wonder why she is so reckless, so trusting of and involved with humans and others. She's certainly not what I expected."

Valentina looked thoughtful as she continued, "She's so young, yet was found so much later in life than we'd hoped. We would have preferred to train her from the beginning, but we have her as she is." She looked back at Alek who was listening attentively to her.

"Whatever mistakes were made, she's alive and we are alive. I hope she learned what she needed to from that life. Let's make sure we've learned what we need to. We need a way to protect her better."

Valentina rose to leave the room, saying "Get some sleep now," to Alek as she went into another room.


	4. Chapter 4

The Inevitable

The Uniter felt much better when she woke up.

She knew it was Sunday, though she had no idea what time. The sun was shining brightly, but she lay still in her bed, concentrating on how she felt. Really, the pain was gone, though she still felt a little sore where she had been shot.

She was able to stretch while lying in bed without hurting. She breathed a sigh of relief and sat up before gasping as she glanced to the mirror. Someone was in her room with her.

When she realized who it was, she had to close her eyes and take a couple of calming breaths. Her mother was sitting, watching her.

"Sorry," Meredith said. "I let you sleep in, but I wanted to be here when you woke up. We need to talk."

Chloe nodded - it was expected. Actually, she expected it the previous night when Paul and Amy left, but for some reason her mother had given her a pass, just telling her to go to bed. She expected to have trouble sleeping with the pain she felt and with all else happening around her, but she was quickly asleep, barely having had time to wonder why her mother wasn't questioning her before she was dreaming, then waking up to the bright sunlight

Whatever the reason for the night-long pass, it was over.

"Can I…?" Chloe asked, nodding towards the bathroom.

Meredith nodded. "Of course." Meredith hadn't slept much the night before. Alek's appeal for her to let Chloe rest had calmed her, helped her understand that Chloe needed the rest. She was no longer so upset, but she still had questions.

Chloe was in the bathroom longer than she needed to be, longer than she should have been. It was hard to force herself to leave. She always knew this day would come, she had almost told her mother about her transition before, but had held back. Her biggest concern was that, no matter what else happened, her mother would know that her daughter had been lying to her. Chloe feared losing her mother's trust more than anything.

Meredith was sitting on the bed when Chloe returned. There was a box next to her on one side, Chloe sat next to her mother on the other side.

Chloe was a little surprised to see the concern on her mother's face rather than the expected anger or frustration.

"How are you feeling," Meredith asked.

"Much better," Chloe said, though she looked down, unable to hold keep eye contact.

"I don't understand," Meredith began. "There were people outside our house, Alek said they were there to protect you."

Chloe was still looking down, but she concentrated just then, trying to hear outside as her mother paused. Then she nodded, "They're still there."

"You know that without looking?"

The Uniter nodded. "They don't make much noise, but I can hear them."

"Chloe," the mother whispered. When she didn't continue, Chloe finally met her eyes. Then Meredith pulled something up from her lap and gave it to her daughter. "You've probably never seen this." It was an old, yellowed newspaper article.

Chloe's eyes widened at the headline – "Child Lone Survivor of Ukrainian Massacre." The she saw the name of the writer. "Dad," the Uniter whispered.

"Yeah," Meredith whispered as Chloe's eyes scanned the article. Meredith watched her daughter's expression change from surprise to grief as Chloe read the article.

"I should have told you," the Uniter's mother said as Chloe gave her mother the article and turned to hug her. "I couldn't bear to tell you that the only reason you are with me is because of such violence."

Chloe nodded as she was hugged, trying to control herself. "I'd hoped to meet them," she whispered. She had always had hope that her birth parents were alive, that she would one day know them. Then she said what she suddenly realized. "Alek's not the only one."

"Alek?" Meredith asked, pulling away as her daughter released her.

Chloe nodded. "His parents died when he was three. Valentina said they were killed in a 'slaughter'."

Meredith released a breath, not sure whether she should comment on Alek's losses or ask about Valentina, a name she had never heard before.

She chose neither, instead saying "When Alek told me there were people here to protect you, it made me think of this. It made me wonder if whatever happened last night could be related to this…to what happened when you were so young."

Chloe just looked at her mother, unable to say anything, though she knew she had to now

"That's my last secret, kiddo," Meredith said gently. "Now I think there's some things you need to tell me."

Chloe bit her lip. "What did Alek tell you?"

"What I already knew – that you were hurt and afraid, and that you needed rest. And he said something about you being different recently, but not because of drugs or sex or … um, gangs. I'm hoping that's true."

"It is," Chloe said quietly.

Meredith waited for more, but Chloe couldn't bring herself to say any more.

"I know how hard it is to say something like this, but Chloe, if someone's trying to hurt you, I need to know about it."

The Uniter looked into her mom's eyes and finally said, "They can't really do anything to me – not right now, anyway. But you…they can hurt you. And I'm really afraid that they will…that they will hurt you to try to get to me."

* * *

><p>And <em>This<em> is What Mom Gets Out of the "Talk"?

Chloe had told her mother everything she could think of, with one exception. She couldn't bring herself to mention Xavier – how she had kissed him and how he had then died.

She did mention that kissing, or more, with humans could cause the human to die. A day earlier she would have said 'will' kill the human. She was no longer so sure of that.

She had said everything she could think of, her mother had asked her some questions. Now they were just sitting in her bedroom, looking at each other. Chloe had nothing else to say. She could tell her mother was torn, unsure of how to react.

"This is…" Meredith began, "hard to…"

"Believe?" Chloe offered.

"Accept." Meredith finally said. "If only there was something you could show me…"

Chloe hesitated, then said "Do you remember when you were almost hit by a car and I picked you up and moved you out of the way?"

Meredith nodded, then said, "So you're strong?"

"Stronger than I was before," Chloe sighed. "Faster too, and I can hear things from far away, can see clearly in the dark."

Chloe watched her mom slowly nod as she took all of this in, then her mom asked "anything else?"

Chloe flashed her claws which made her mother gasp. Then the Uniter said. "this and the nine lives I mentioned. Well, seven now."

"Chloe," Meredith said, after recovering from the shock of seeing claws on her daughter's hand. "I don't know whether to be afraid, or relieved, or concerned…"

Another unfinished sentence. "Welcome to the club." Chloe said after waiting to see if her mother would finish.

"Mai." Meredith said, then laughed quietly to herself. "Mai Mai!. Mai oh mai."

"Mom!" the Uniter interrupted. "Please."

If Meredith had a sheepish grin, Chloe was seeing it now.

Chloe spoke softer now. "And please, Mom," she implored. "No one can know."

"You said Amy and Paul know."

"And they're in danger because of it. Paul was kidnapped by someone trying to kill me. I don't want anyone else in danger because of me." Chloe sighed. "I tried really hard to keep you out of this, but … I can't anymore."

Meredith nodded. "OK. But I'd like to meet the Mai, the people who have been protecting you. I'd like to thank them, and…I don't know. Just meet them."

Chloe's reaction showed the horror she felt at the idea. Her mom and Valentina? She found herself shaking her head, but then saying, "I need to check on Jasmine."

Meredith rose and spoke as she left the room. "Then it's a perfect time. I'll take you there, you can check on her and I can meet these people who are helping you. We'll leave as soon as Brian delivers my car."

Chloe was about to object when her mom, who had already gone through the door into the hall, turned suddenly back to look at Chloe. "You said Alek is Mai, but is Brian Mai?"

Chloe shook her head. "Alek yes, Brian no."

Meredith suddenly understood some of the turmoil in Chloe's life. "But you're in love with Brian."

Chloe shrugged. "Maybe, I'm not sure. But it doesn't matter."

Meredith gave a compassionate look to her daughter. "The ultimate forbidden love. Kind of romantic."

The Uniter couldn't believe what her mother was saying. "Thanks so much. This is really helping."

"But Alek's safe for you to…"

"Mom!" Chloe interrupted. "I need to get ready before Brian comes." Then she flipped her hand in a motion to shoo her mother away.

As her mother left, Chloe quickly said "Oh, and Mom, I don't think Brian knows any of this stuff. Please, don't tell him anything he doesn't already know."

Meredith turned back, nodded and smiled a little. "So romantic. You want to prote…"

Chloe had to try really hard to not slam her bedroom door as she closed it, cutting off her mother's words.

* * *

><p><span>The Car and the Question<span>

Brian was talking to Meredith, sitting at the kitchen table, when Chloe came down. The girl was nervous as she descended the stairs, having no idea how she would be received.

"You're Ok," Brian said, though he was a little confused at the glare Chloe was shooting at her mother, who had a little smirk on her face.

"Yeah," Chloe said as she approached and gave Brian a small smile. "Thanks for…uh…" It took the Uniter a few seconds to figure out how to finish the sentence, "bringing my mom's car. Are you OK?"

"Yeah," Brian said, rising from the table he and Meredith had been sitting at. He glanced back at Chloe's Mom before turning back to Chloe and softly asking "can we talk for a minute?"

Chloe said "Sure" and pointed towards the living room. As Brian passed her, she glared at her mother, whose smirk got a little bigger. Chloe pointed an index finger with claw extended at Meredith. "Watch it, lady," she whispered before turning to follow Brian.

Both Chloe and Brian hesitated as they sat next to each other on the couch. Chloe was close to saying something, though she did not know what, when Brian spoke.

"Sorry about last night…what I did."

Chloe nodded. "I'll ask you to respect my wishes in the future."

"I was just so relieved," he said, so softly she though it might have been said to himself.

"Even so…" Chloe said, but stopped, not wanting to say anymore.

"And my dad agrees with you."

"Your dad?" Chloe asked, giving him a quizzical look.

Brian looked like he wished he hadn't said anything. "It came up. I told him that you really didn't want me to do that, and he said I shouldn't ever do it again."

That made her Chloe pause. "And he cares because…?"

Brian shrugged. "I don't know. But he asked me to ask you something." He hesitated, then said "I'm sorry, it's a little weird."

"What is it?"

"He asked me to ask you if your mother knows about you."

Chloe froze but tried to keep her face blank. Suddenly she was a little worried. Suddenly she thought it wasn't such a bad idea to see Valentina.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Brian "Does his question mean anything to you?"

Chloe shook her head, but decided to respond anyway. She had to force herself to remember who she was talking to and that she cared about him. She tried to keep her voice calm. "No, but you can tell him that my mom does know about me." Chloe could feel an icy stare coming through, but didn't try to control it. "She knows everything about me."

Chloe turned around and took a calming breath before she said, "My mom and I need to leave. I'll see you later."

Brian followed her as she rose and left the room, obviously confused, until Chloe went up the stairs without looking back at him.

* * *

><p><span>The Relief<span>

Chloe had just entered her mother's car, which Brian had left on the driveway, when she saw him. "Mom, I need to talk to Alek for a minute before we go."

Meredith looked to where her daughter was facing, but couldn't see the Mai boy. Still, Chloe was out of the car before she could say anything. She did see finally him as she watched Chloe walk towards him. She watched her daughter tentatively approach the guy who Meredith knew had helped and protected the daughter she loved so much, and she suddenly felt guilty about teasing Chloe about her love life earlier.

"Hi," Chloe started. She wanted so badly to hug him again, to feel his arms around her tightly. He had hugged her that way before, when he wasn't afraid he might hurt her. The hug last night had been so gentle, and she wanted more, but she was too unsure to make the move just now. She had no idea if she had managed to repair the damage done to their relationship yesterday. "Are you OK?"

"Fine," he said. "Going somewhere?"

Chloe nodded, trying to send some kind of nonverbal 'please understand me' message as she looked into his eyes. " We're going to your place. I want to check on Jasmine and I need to talk to Valentina."

"And you're bringing your mother." Alek said. Like the night before, Chloe couldn't read his mood from his expression or his words.

"She insists. She knows just about everything now and wants to meet…all of you."

When Alek only nodded, Chloe added. "You could come with. I mean, you're probably here to watch over me, and you could do it from right next to me. If you want."

"That is why I'm here," he responded, then his face visibly softened. "I'd like that."

She breathed as sigh of relief as he let her take his hand to lead him to the car.


	5. Chapter 5

The Protection

"Wait," Alek told Chloe as she was about to push the elevator button in his building. She had waited a few seconds for him to do it, but he was just looking at the entrance. "One more is coming. You're not ditching your protection this time."

"I'm not trying to," Chloe said as she pulled her hand back.

"Him too," Alek said to the doorman as the expected Mai entered. "He's with us."

Chloe was a little embarrassed and tried not to glance at either of the Mai guys. She almost looked at her mother, but when she saw that Meredith was staring at her, she just stared at the elevator doors as Alek pushed the button to summon the elevator.

When inside, she just stared at the doors again as they rode the elevator up. Nobody spoke for a few seconds, so she tried to break the ice, mostly to see if she sounded as calm as she wanted to.

"I thought there were three around my house. Did we 'ditch' one?"

Alek did not sound even slightly amused. "No. One will stay at your house whether you're there or not. No more surprises."

She did turn to look at him now. "We don't even know that they know where I live."

"We don't know what they know. We only about you."

Chloe was thinking that this was not the visit to Valentina's that she envisioned when she heard the doors open behind her. She turned around to see the unknown Mai guy stepping in front of her, then stepping back which allowed her to see Valentina, who was standing there, waiting for them.

Valentina gave Chloe a curt nod as she entered saying "Chloe," then turned her attention to Meredith.

"Hello. I'm Valentina," the Pride leader said, extending her hand.

"Meredith," Chloe's mom replied, accepting the handshake.

"I was a little surprised to hear that I was meeting you, but come in."

"Surprised?" Meredith asked as she and Chloe sat where Valentina entered.

"Yes. I'm not sure what Chloe told you about us, but," Valentina now looked at Chloe, "it's not the first time Chloe has surprised us."

Chloe met Valentina's eyes only briefly before she said, "I'm glad you're all right," before quickly looking away.

"And I'm glad you're all right." Valentina said. "I'm also sorry that you were alone. It appears I need to reemphasize the meaning of 'Uniter Duty'." She gave Alek as brief, meaningful stare before turning back to Chloe.

"It was my fault." Chloe quickly said, finally looking back at Valentina.

"I'm well aware of that," Valentina said, then she turned to Meredith. "Chloe is superb, you've done a wonderful job with her and we are grateful. But she can be the most exasperating girl."

"Tell me about it," Meredith replied. "Sometimes she hides things from you."

"That she does," Valentina agreed. "She can also be reckless, and no matter how sound the advice she is given, she often ignores it."

Meredith was nodding her agreement when Chloe interrupted. "Okay... This is turning into everything I … expected. Can we move on to people trying to kill me?"

"Trying to kill us," Valentina said. "From what we can see, it was a coordinated attack on you and those of us who protect you."

Chloe closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be such trouble."

The Pride leader studied the Uniter for a few seconds before Chloe's opened her eyes and looked at her. "Are you still in pain?" Valentina asked.

Chloe shook her head. "No, I guess it's just a habit from yesterday. I'm just a little sore where I was…hit." She had to look away as she said the last part.

Valentina's face remained concerned. "We'll have a Healer look at you before you leave."

When Chloe looked a little confused, Alek interjected, "Call them Mai doctors. They're here with Jasmine right now."

Chloe was horrified. She had come here to check on the Mai girl, but had been so self-absorbed she had forgotten. "I'm sorry I didn't ask sooner. How is she? Can I see her?"

Valetina shook her head. "We don't know how she is yet, but no, you can't see her." Then she added something that surprised Chloe. "This has given us something in common Chloe – you and me. Now we both owe our lives to Alek."

She thought about this briefly then nodded. "I know. I won't take him so lightly, him or any of you that watch out for me."

"I hope that's true. I hope you will always let us protect you. You have no idea how dangerous it is for you out there."

Chloe laughed, though without humor. "Actually, I do. I've been reminded a couple of times now."

"She just wants some privacy sometimes," Meredith said, trying to come to her daughter's defense.

"Only when she's with Brian," Alek threw in.

"Alek," Chloe said weakly. She was thinking that maybe the damage to her relationship with Alek which occured the day before wasn't quite as repaired as she hoped. She wanted to say more, but had nothing to add. She just closed her eyes and rubbed her head again.

"Brian?" Valentina asked.

Chloe didn't immediately respond, so Meredith said, "A friend of hers. Brian Rezza."

The Mai leader's reaction to the name surprised everyone. "Brian Rezza? You are friends with Brian Rezza?"

"Yes," Chloe said, unsure of what the problem was.

"That ends now. You are to have nothing to do with him."

Suddenly Chloe was just as upset as Valentina. "That's not your decision."

Valentina's expression did not soften. She glanced at Meredith and Chloe knew what she was thinking – that she wanted to talk away from her mother.

"She's in now," The Uniter said, referring to Meredith. "She needs to know everything."

Valentina stared briefly before, as usual, accepting what Chloe said. "The Rezza family is associated with the Order. Brian's father and grandmother are deeply involved with those who are trying to eliminate you."

"Whitley?" Meredith asked, shaking her head. "No. Rezza Capital is a legitimate, highly-regarded firm – I checked them out."

"That may be, but…" Valentina began, then suddenly asked "why would you 'check them out'."

"I met with him last night, a business dinner."

Valentina looked stunned.

"I think I met him once too," Chloe said. "We discussed art. He was perfectly nice to me." She was about to add 'I think you have the wrong person', when she remembered that Brian had problems with him. And there was also the strange question Brian had asked earlier.

Valentina looked confused only briefly, but then her face turned hard. "They are a serious threat to you, Chloe."

Chloe shook her head. "Not Brian. He would never hurt me."

Valentina was looking exasperated again, Meredith concerned, when Chloe decided she had to reveal the earlier conversation. "Brian's father did ask him to ask me if my mother knew about me."

All around her were stunned, but it was Valetina who spoke. "We can't risk either of them getting close to you again. If they do, we will have to…"

Chloe interrupted her. "I've told Alek, now I'll tell you. No one hurts Brian – or his father. That's not going to happen."

"Chloe…" Valentina began.

"No one," the Uniter repeated, her voice still harsh. Then she steadied it as she said, "Look, my job description is pretty vague – to 'unite' or whatever, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't included killing anybody." She had to take a few breaths to calm herself. "Keep danger from me, do what you have to, but don't go after anybody. Brian, his father and his grandmother have all been very nice to me. Leave them alone…unless…"

"Unless we watch you die at the hands of one of them?" Alek asked.

Chloe closed her eyes again. Her hand started to move towards her forehead, but she managed to stop it this time. She wanted to say something, but she was only making things worse.

"Is there anyone we can protect you from?" Valentina asked. "How about Zane."

"Sure." Chloe said softly, eyes still closed. "And the bitch who shot me."

The Uniter took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and spoke to the Pride leader who had done so much for her. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be such a pain."

Valentina didn't immediately respond, though Meredith did. "You're not a 'pain' to them Chloe, I've seen that much. I don't know exactly who you are to them, but I can tell that they're scared to death for you."

Chloe looked to her mother now, who added, "Maybe you should work with them on this?"

* * *

><p><span>The Elimination<span>

"I've no other place to go," Zane said into Simone's car window. She could tell he was a little desperate.

"Maybe you shouldn't have failed," she replied coolly.

"We don't know that I did," Zane spat back. "Jasmine could be dead, even if what you say about Valentina living is true. You were to kill the Uniter. You're the one who failed."

"I did kill her," Simone argued defensively.

"One death each. It sounds like I did as much as you."

"I have a place to stay. You may just be kicked out of yours."

"You fail, and I'm the one that loses?" the Mai argued, though he was getting nervous. He needed her help now more than ever – he did not want to be caught on the streets alone now. He knew that the local Mai would be hunting him.

"Look," he said, "since you failed, your employers will not be happy. The Uniter will be even more protected than before, and you failed when she was alone. Let me keep my room for a few days, I will eliminate her."

Simone managed an icy stare in return, but knew he was right. Besides, if he failed, the Mai would take him out. If he succeeded, she might still salvage her reputation within the Order. She nodded and let him climb into her car.

* * *

><p><span>The Conversation<span>

"What are you hiding from me?" Brian asked his father. He wasn't yelling, he didn't really ever do that, but Whitley knew he was serious.

"What did the girl say?" Whitley asked, looking up from his desk.

"You knew the question would upset her. She walked out on me, effectively threw me out. I don't know if she'll ever talk to me again."

"All the better," Whitley said. "But you didn't answer my question."

"She said her mother knows all about her."

Whitley broke eye contact and nodded.

"What aren't you telling me?" Brian demanded.

Whitley actually sighed, something Brian couldn't remember him ever doing. "What you don't know is for your protection. She's dangerous. So is your grandmother. Stay away from both."

"Yeah, dangerous." Brian argued. "I saw grandma, I kissed Chloe, yet dangerous or not, I live – here I am."

Whitley's expression changed to concern, something else Brian rarely saw. "Stay away from them both. The girl will be protected, especially now, but you won't."

"Protected? Chloe?"

Whitley nodded. "Have you not seen anyone around her?"

"Just her friends…including that guy she kisses."

That startled Whitley. "Kisses? What guy?'

Brian shrugged. "A guy from her school – Alek I think."

Whitley hesitated, thinking. "He's with her a lot?"

"Yeah," Brian said, sounding a little bitter. "All the time."

"Do you know where he lives?"

Brian shook his head. "Not really into learning about the guys she kisses…"

"Well find out," Whitley ordered.

Brian's disbelief showed. "Find out about her boyfriend – while I'm staying away from her."

"I'm glad you understand." Whitley turned back to the work on his desk, a signal that Brian understood. This conversion was over.


	6. Chapter 6

The Plans

"I don't want to," Chloe said.

"We've talked about this before, Chloe," Valentina said. "You're far too valuable to risk when the Order is going to such lengths to get to you."

"But to take her away, hide her…" Meredith began. She had been fairly quiet during the discussion, letting Chloe talk to the Mai by herself, but this possibility was upsetting her.

"Not just her," Valentina interrupted. "I know her well enough to know that if she wasn't absolutely sure you were safe, she would find a way to escape her protectors and go looking for you."

"You make it sound like a bad thing," Chloe said softly "It's not."

"No, it's not," Valentina agreed. "It's one of the things I most admire about you. I can only hope to have such loyalty from you some day, but I have come to learn that I must take it into consideration when dealing with you."

"'Dealing' with me," Chloe grumbled to herself.

"Chloe, I don't think you have any idea how dangerous it is for you right now," Valentina insisted. "Your last life was so short, if the next is the same…"

"I get it," the Uniter interrupted. "I do know. If the scar-faced creep wasn't enough, the gun-toting bitch was." Hearing a quick intake of break from her mother and knowing she was about to be scolded for language, Chloe quickly added "sorry Mom."

"The Order has you right where they want you," Valentina said. They've found you, they know you and they know us. They won't stop trying to kill you."

Chloe looked devastated enough that Meredith said "You can't make her do what she doesn't want to do."

Valentina turned her attention to the Uniter's mother. "It's not our first choice. But there are Mai that will take you both in, that will protect you while we track down the Order's thugs. We just want her to be safe. If you only knew how important she is…"

"No," Chloe said suddenly. When she had the attention of those nearby, she added "I'm staying."

Valentina was looking exasperated again. Meredith looked concerned.

"Chloe…" the Pride leader began.

"Does the Uniter run and hide?" Chloe challenged. "Is that in the prophecies?"

Everyone was silent for a few seconds. Chloe could tell that she had surprised Valentina, but could tell she was also going to continue the argument. It was Alek who spoke first.

"No. The Uniter confronts the problem. Then she solves it or overcomes it." He paused for few seconds, then added "At least that's what I was taught."

Chloe wanted to turn to him, to give him as smile of 'thank you', but she kept her face determined, her eyes fixed on Valentina.

The Pride leader stared at him briefly, then sighed. "Sometimes he listens to me," she said softly to herself. She turned her attention back to Chloe, finally saying "You're so young…"

Chloe waited for more, but it did not come. "And, I'm told, I can't hide. I don't want to anyway. I want to live my life. Some of it may be sucky, but people are trying to take it away from me. It's mine and I want it."

Valentina raised her head. At least she didn't look unhappy, Chloe thought, until she realized that Pride leader was acknowledging someone behind Chloe.

"Go with Kassandra," Valentina said. "She'll examine you while we work out some details."

* * *

><p><span>The Checkup<span>

Really it was like being examined by any doctor. Kassandra did all of the things that were done anytime Chloe visited the school nurse or her family doctor. Now Chloe had her shirt pulled up, exposing where she had been shot.

"The bullets stayed in you," Kassandra said, almost with wonder as she poked at the area. "They didn't come out the other side?"

"No," Chloe said shaking her head. "I mean, there would have been holes in my clothes there, right?"

"I should think so."

"There was nothing on that side. Is it weird that I don't feel them?"

"I have no idea," the Mai Healer said. "You're my first Uniter as a patient."

Chloe tilted her head in a way that showed she was confused.

Kassandra smiled. "Sorry, lame joke. Just trying to make you feel at ease. It's still sore?"

"Just a little, even less than when we got here."

The Healer backed off and turned around, writing something down. "Let me know if it continues or get worse. It may just be that your body will deal with whatever it encounters, as long as you have a life left."

Chloe nodded. "OK. Does this mean I can't go to a regular doctor anymore?"

Kassandra had finished writing and now turned to face Chloe again. "Have your claws ever emerged when you didn't expect it?"

"Yeah. Once or twice."

"If a doctor did something that startled you or that hurt when you didn't expect it…well, you wouldn't want that to happen. It's not likely they could help you if you were sick or hurt anyway."

Chloe nodded, then thought of something else she could ask. "Does…kissing or whatever between Mai and humans always kill the human?"

Kassandra gave an odd look in return, saying "You should know from your own experience that such…intimacy… between Mai and humans is not a good idea."

The Uniter was suddenly embarrassed and lowered her eyes. "You know about what happened."

"When I was told I would be examining you, I was told everything that was known about you – which wasn't a lot. But I was told about that."

Chloe was ready to drop the subject and leave, but Kassandra spoke again. "But no. Not death every time."

Chloe looked at her, almost feeling hopeful, when the Healer continued, "However, in every case I have heard of, if the human doesn't die, he is permanently incapacitated. It is not something you would ever want to do, if what I have been told about you is true."

The Uniter nodded and left the room, hoping she did not look as disappointed – and confused - as she felt.

* * *

><p><span>Where he Could…<span>

"I'd feel much better if you would stay home for a couple of days," Valentina said. "It'll take that long to get everything in place."

"I can't," Chloe said. "I can't let them control me. They have to know they can't rattle me."

"Besides," she added when she saw that Valentina was still unhappy with her, "what would the Mai think if the Uniter ran away like a scared little girl every time she was…"

Even Chloe didn't want to finish that statement. Meredith just pulled her towards the door. "Let's go. We're done here."

They were followed into the elevator by Alex and the other Mai protector. Meredith pushed the button to go down, then turned to Chloe. "Will we never be alone again?"

Chloe gave her mother a look meant to say 'sorry, I hope it's not for long,' when Alek said "In your home. We won't intrude there."

No one spoke as Meredith drove home. Chloe did convince her mother to let her and Alek out of the car before driving it into the garage. She wanted to talk to him again, and for some reason, the risk of Mai outside overhearing seemed better than the risk of her mother overhearing if they were inside.

"Thanks for helping me with Valentina," she began when they were sitting on the steps together.

"I just said what Valentina had taught me," He replied. "Anyway, you shouldn't be forced to do something you don't want to."

"Still, good timing," she said. She was having trouble looking at him, but she asked the hard question. "Are we OK?"

"Good as ever," he replied. "You say you don't know what you want, and now, I don't know what you want either."

Chloe bit her lip, unsure of what to say, when he continued. "I'm with you every day, Chloe, whether you see me or not. I'm constantly watching you, but I just don't understand you. About all I understand is what Paul told me once - that your friends are important to you. I have seen that."

Chloe laughed to herself as she finally let herself look at him. "You really did talk to Paul about me, didn't you?"

Alek shrugged. "I wanted to know more about you, about what was important to you."

She let herself smile. "You keep surprising me." When he didn't immediately respond, she added "I want to know more about you, too. I mean, I already know that you'll do whatever you can to help me, to protect me. But I want to know more."

She watched him for a second, hoping he would say something. When he didn't, she continued, "This is where you could bring up that movie again."

Alek regarded her for a minute, then said, "This is where I could probably steal a kiss again. But every time I do, Brian shows up."

Chloe bit her lip and managed to say, "I know, I'm so sorry. But I think under the circumstances…"

"That it's over?" Alek interrupted. "Again?"

She couldn't think of anything to say, but she didn't have to. Alek spoke again.

"Let's just do something about Zane and the 'gun-toting bitch'. Let's figure out the Rezzas and make sure you're safe. That's what I want more than anything right now."

She nodded, put an arm around him and gave a little hug before she rose to enter the house. She had to turn back when he said, "And Chloe, remember. Whether you see me or not, I'll be there to help if you need me."

She nodded and whispered "I know," before turning to enter her home.

* * *

><p><span>The Damage<span>

It took a little bit of time for Brian to gather the courage to call her, but he finally did. He was disappointed when she didn't answer. He wondered if he had completely blown it with her this time.

He blamed his father, really. She wasn't upset until he asked the stupid question – the question he didn't understand and that, whatever it meant, probably wasn't any of his business anyway.

But whoever's fault it was, there was damage to be repaired. He wanted to do just that, so he was taking the first step. He was calling her, he was leaving her a message.

"Hey, Chloe, it's Brian…but you probably already knew that. I'm really sorry about asking you what I did and about kissing you when you didn't want me to. Really sorry. I won't…do anything like that again. I know you have a lot going on, but please, can we talk? Will you call me back?"

It was hard, but it was done. If this didn't work, he would have to find her and try to talk to her in person, though he really didn't know what he would say. He didn't really want to ask about Alek as his father demanded.

Still, Whitley knew something about Chloe that Brian didn't. He couldn't help wondering what it was.

* * *

><p><span>The Poison<span>

Zane hadn't been watching long, but he was satisfied with what he saw.

He had managed to stay hidden – first from the single Mai that was at the Uniter's house while she was out, then from the other Mai that arrived with her.

She was even more protected than before, but that was expected. He would have to watch for a couple of days to be sure, but it looked like there was a way he could get to her.

He still had his poisons. He was set up to deliver a dose at close range, but he could adjust, could set it up to deliver a dose from a distance.

Really, if what he was seeing proved to be true, if there was only one Mai at the Uniter's house when she was out, he could get inside and set a trap for her. Even if Alek entered with her, watching Alek and Chloe had shown him that they were so involved in their conversation that he could easily take one of them out before he was noticed by the other.

The hardest part would be killing her as often as he needed to before she was able to do something to him. As he continued to watch the house, he wondered if poisoning Chloe the same way he had Valentina would keep her frozen through seven more deaths, keeping her from retaliating against him.


	7. Chapter 7

The Hotness

"You know him?" Amy cried. It was close to a scream or a screech.

Chloe was looking into the locker she had just opened, but turned to see where Amy was looking. She was looking at the guy they just passed while going to the lockers, the guy who had just nodded to Chloe.

The Uniter sighed and turned back the items in her locker. "Met him this morning, as soon as I – we – arrived."

"So, dish. Who is he? I mean besides being smokin'…"

"Amy! He's Mai."

Amy looked at her best friend now. "I can still enjoy the hotness."

Chloe shook her head as she closed her locker. She almost said something about Paul, but decided not to. Amy looking at Mai was too much like Chloe paying attention to Brian when she knew she shouldn't.

"He's here to protect. His cover is that there was some unnamed threat at the school, so he's here for a few days just in case. He's supposed to be very low profile, only the principal and a couple of teachers know. It's all very hush hush."

"Mmm," Amy said, looking back at him. He was leaning against a wall, watching them. "I heard something was up, though I didn't hear it was about you."

"Well that's something," Chloe muttered.

"And my sources are good." Amy claimed. "If I didn't hear about your involvement, no one here suspects it."

Chloe just leaned against her locker and closed her eyes as she wondered how long all of this would last.

"He's the extra protection because of what happened Saturday?" Amy asked.

"Not just him. I have a matching pair of Mai Ninja. Janelle is here too." Chloe nodded towards the other Mai standing nearby, watching them. "I can't even go to the bathroom alone."

"Well if she's as hot as he is…" Amy said as she turned her head to see. "She is! You're lucky Alek only has eyes for you."

Chloe closed her eyes again and let herself rub her forehead this time. "Amy…"

"Well he does. And he's always there for you. Honestly, I don't know what else you could possibly want in someone."

"Amy. Are we really going to talk about this?"

"Fine," Amy said, sounding disappointed, but moving on. "But at least you're alone when you're in the classroom."

"Nope," Chloe replied. "Janelle's cover is that she's some kind of student teacher who is here for a couple of days observing each and every one of my classes."

That made Amy pause. "How long will they be here?"

"Probably just a couple of days – long enough to get a couple of Mai who are my age transferred in, who will also be in all of my classes."

Amy studied Chloe for a few seconds before saying "I think it's good that they're watching over you, protecting you. Don't you?'

"Yeah," Chloe admitted as they left the lockers and headed for class. "I am a little spooked about all of this. I just want things to get back to normal."

"Sure," Amy said as they parted ways. "Back to normal. Until then, at least enjoy the hotness…"

* * *

><p><span>The Space<span>

Chloe was on her way to work after school when she saw Alek a little ahead of her – arguing with Brian.

The human was sitting at a table with his computer in front of him, the Mai standing with his back to her.

She concentrated, trying to hear them as she approached.

"What more does she have to do to make you leave her alone?" Alek was asking.

"She's not doing anything to make me do that," Brian argued. "Only you are trying."

"Then what more do I have to do?"

"It's her choice," Brian spat back.

"Alek," Chloe said softly from behind him. "Give me a minute with him, please."

Alek turned his back to Brian and faced the Uniter. "You're kidding right? Leave you alone with him? I know you were paying attention yesterday."

"I was, but…" She really didn't have anything to say after that. There was no good reason for him to leave them alone, not in his mind anyway.

Alek looked at her expectantly, but it was Janelle that spoke from behind Chloe. "I'll stay with her. You can wait across the street."

Alek kept his eyes focused on the Uniter as Chloe nodded. "Please, just for a minute."

She could tell he was fuming as he moved away from them, and it caused her some pain, but she thought it was important for her to talk to Brian, especially with what she had heard about the Rezza's recently. She was sure he wouldn't say anything with Alek near, but hoped that Janelle's presence would not have the same effect on him. She was a little relieved when Janelle stayed about five feet away from them.

Chloe tried to put her serious face on as she sat down. She hadn't wanted to damage her relationship with Alek any more than it already was, but she was disturbed by what she had heard about Brian and his father. She needed to know more, and talking to Brian was the only way she thought she could do it.

She was a little surprised to see Brian looking at Janelle rather than at her. She was even more surprised at what he said when he spoke.

"Are there more?"

Chloe didn't understand. "Brian?" she asked quietly.

He still didn't look at her, his eyes moving between Alek and Janelle, but he spoke a little firmer this time. "Are there more?"

"More what?"

Brian finally met Chloe's eyes as he answered. "More people around you. My dad was right. They're here to protect you aren't they?"

It was Chloe who looked away this time. "He said that?"

"Yeah. When I told him what you said about your mother – that she does know about you, he said you were protected."

Chloe took a deep breath and almost rubbed her head again. "You told him that?" She still couldn't look at him.

"You told me to tell him. What neither of you is telling me is what this is about." Brian hesitated until she finally looked at him. "What's going on, Chloe? Why would you need protection? Why would my dad ask about your mother knowing who you are?"

Chloe studied him enough to convince herself that he really had no idea about who she was. Still, she wanted confirmation. "You really don't know, do you?"

It looked like Brian was starting to glare when he slowly asked "Know what?" - enunciating each syllable.

"Nothing," she said as she thought 'he can't tell me anything.' "Nothing you need to know. But Brian, please, you need to give me some space for a little while. It's not safe around me. I'm not safe right now."

Brian was obviously confused. "What do you mean? Do you need my help?"

Chloe quickly shook her head. "No. I mean I care about you, and I'd die if you got hurt. Please stay away from me, just for a little while."

"But Alek…" he began to protest.

"Alek can help me right now, and he is."

Brian looked down, thinking this had something to do with the fact that he had punched Alek once. "I thought we were past that. I really did think he was hurting you, and I've apologized."

"That's not it," Chloe said, shaking her head. "Though Alek would never hurt me – you need to remember that. But this isn't about Alek, this is about me. Please give me some space, just for awhile. I promise, I'll let you know when it's safe around me again."

She rose and went to Janelle, not looking back to him until she reached the other Mai girl. When she looked at him again, she gave him a small smile and said "I'll let you know when," loud enough for him to hear.

She turned from him and scanned the area with her eyes, trying to find Alek, but she couldn't see him. She resumed the walk to her work, Janelle walking right beside her.

* * *

><p><span>The Assistant<span>

Chloe was in her room doing homework when her mother knocked and entered.

"Hey kiddo," Meredith greeted

"Hi Mom," Chloe answered, happy to take a break from the book in front of her.

"Guess what happened to me today," Meredith began, though she did not wait for Chloe to guess. "I arrived at work to find that I have a new assistant."

"You already have an assistant," Chloe noted.

"Yes I do. Now I have two, but I'm not paying the new one. Nor am I allowed to ask her to do anything for me. Mostly she just hangs around me, won't let me go anywhere alone. She even insists on entering the ladies' room to check it out before she lets me in."

Chloe couldn't help a small laugh, though it came out as an unpleasant sound.

"My guess is that you have a similar problem." Meredith added.

"Similar and double," Chloe responded. "Though only one of them goes to bathroom with me."

Chloe was just wondering about the words she had just spoken, when her mother spoke again. "I'll take that in the most innocent way possible."

Then Meredith sighed. "Are we doing the right thing?"

Chloe shrugged. "I think. I can't just leave, but it really is a pain."

Meredith was nodding when Chloe asked "Did you hear from Mr. Rezza?"

"No, though I didn't expect to just yet. I expected him to take a few days to decide. I do wonder now if our meeting was what I thought it was, or if it was some kind of distraction."

"He does seem to know about me," Chloe agreed. Then she made a decision and asked "Can you set up a meeting with him? Him, you and me?"

Meredith did not look thrilled. "And you want a meeting with him because…?"

"He obviously knows about me. Valentina thinks he's dangerous, but he hasn't told Brian about me. I don't know." Chloe looked down, trying to gather her thoughts. "I just think that maybe we can put an end to all of this."

"Put an end to this" Meredith repeated. "Those words don't comfort me. Shouldn't we just let the Mai handle it?"

"The Mai is me, Mom." Chloe answered, chuckling at her sentence as she met her mother's eyes again. "I am the Mai. Besides, he wasn't the one who shot me. He's protecting Brian from all of this. He seemed nice when I met him. Did you find him unreasonable?"

"That was business, Chloe, not you. How could I take that risk, any risk, with you?"

"I just want to talk with him, Mom. If we can show him how awesome I am, maybe things will get better between him and the Mai."

Meredith still looked doubtful. "Would Valentina approve?"

"You have no idea how often Valentina does not approve of what I do."

"She's just looking out for you, Chloe."

"I know. Please, Mom. Can you at least ask him if he's willing? Just the three of us, no one else. Our 'assistants' will be near, will make sure no one is with him to surprise us, but I'd just like to talk to him. I need to know if what Valentina says is true."

"Just us three – not Brian?"

"Not Brian," Chloe confirmed.

Meredith sighed. "All right. I'll see what he says. At least I should be able to find out if he really is serious about what we discussed."

Chloe nodded. "Thanks." Then she added, "and please, don't talk to anyone but him. If there's a problem with anyone else at his company, well I only want him to know about this."

Meredith studied Chloe for a minute, then asked "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Chloe nodded. "I'm sure," though she really wasn't. Actually, she was beginning to wonder if Valentina was right about her being reckless.


	8. Chapter 8

The Reason

"So you're just going to ignore me," Whitley said to Brian. "You're going to see her anyway."

"You won't give me a reason not to."

"That I'm your father should be reason enough."

Brian took a breath and tried again. "You told me to go after what I want. Chloe is what I want, so that's what I'm doing."

Whitley looked down, trying to cut off the conversation. "You have no idea how dangerous she is."

"Yeah, that's what she says." When his father looked back up to him with a bit of a surprised look on his face, he added. "Neither of you is telling me what it means, no one is telling me why she is dangerous."

Whitley again found himself surprised that Chloe was warning Brian to stay away from her. He hesitated, then tried a different tactic. "She is telling you to stay away from her?"

Brian nodded.

"You say she is what you want. She doesn't have a say in the matter?"

Brian closed his eyes and let out a breath. "You sound just like her."

"Do I?" Whitley asked.

"Yeah. She complains that I don't respect her wishes."

Whitley looked down to the papers on his desk again. "Is that how you were raised? To disrespect someone you care about?"

Brian's mind was quickly full of retorts about the way he was raised because he didn't have a mother. He couldn't bring himself to say any of them. He knew his father loved his mother.

"I get it," Brian finally said, after waiting for more, then turning to leave. "You're not going to tell me any more than she has."

Whitley raised his eyes to watch his son leave. He appreciated that Brian had followed his advice to go after what he wanted. He wanted to say something encouraging and he would have, if Brian had been talking about anyone other than Chloe King. And no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand why the Mai girl seemed to be protecting his son.

* * *

><p><span>The Trust<span>

Whitley couldn't decide if he was surprised or not when Meredith called. She would know that a decision would not have been make on her proposal yet, but the only other possible reason she would call would be Chloe, and he wasn't sure how much she knew about her daughter.

"Hello Meredith," Whitley greeted. Her response was much colder than he expected.

"Whitley."

"I'm sure you understand that we haven't reached a decision on your proposal yet."

"I do," she replied, her voice still cold. "And I'm sure you understand that I'm not calling about that. I'm calling about Chloe."

"You're daughter?" He wasn't sure what she knew, despite Brian asking Chloe his question. "What about her?"

"You know what." The coldness in her voice had turned to anger. "You know what she is."

"Do you?" Whitley's voice unintentionally matched her tone. "Have you any idea how dangerous she is?"

"Chloe? She wouldn't hurt anyone. But the Mai tell me that you would. That you want to kill her!" Meredith had intended to just call and ask for a meeting, but she just had to say this first.

It seemed to catch Whitley off guard. He hesitated and forced his voice to become calm. "You talked to them? But you're not Mai, unless I am seriously misinformed."

"No," the Uniter's mother replied, her own voice fairly calm now. "I'm not Mai. And yes, I talked to them. They are trying to protect her."

Whitley could have argued with her, he had long ago realized the danger of the Mai to humans - and virtually every human he had met that knew about them agreed with him about the danger.

On the other hand, Chloe had apparently tried to protect Brian. He decided it was time to just get to the point.

"What do you want from me?"

"Me? You already know. But Chloe wants a meeting with you. Just you, her and me - no one else."

"Meet alone with the Mai Uniter? Do you think I'm that stupid?"

"She just wants to talk. She doesn't mean you or anyone any harm."

Whitley let a breath out. "It doesn't really matter what she wants, she's still dangerous. And the Mai are deadly, one threatened me in my office just a few weeks ago."

Meredith was a little surprised to hear that. "Why?" she asked, though the answer immediately occurred to her - they were trying to protect Chloe from him.

Whitley wasn't about to admit the truth, so he just said, "She threatened Brian."

That struck a chord with Meredith. She gasped softly and said "Chloe wouldn't let them hurt Brian."

"Pardon me if I have my doubts about that."

"No, it's true," Meredith implored. "She really cares about Brian. She would never let him be hurt by anybody."

Whitley had come to believe that Meredith was right about that, though he still did not understand it. He was deciding how to proceed when Meredith spoke again

"Just meet with us. She only wants you and the Order to leave her alone."

"Can I trust her?" he asked.

"Her and me, you can trust us both. Really, she'll be the one trusting you. She has never sent anyone to kill you."

Before he could answer, Meredith continued, "But she's willing to take the chance. She wants to talk to you that badly."

* * *

><p><span>Dealing with the Change<span>

"They'll be here tomorrow," Alek told Chloe. "All of the arrangements have been made. They'll be in all of your classes."

They were walking to her work together. She had expected to hear that a couple of Mai who could pass as students were being transferred in, but knowing it didn't make it any easier to accept.

"How long will they be here, Alek?" Chloe asked, sounding a little desperate. "I can't really take this much longer."

"Tired of me so soon?" he joked. "I can give you more space."

"No!" she said quicker than she would have liked. "You know I like it when you're..." She had to stop and close her eyes to clear her head before she said something she would regret. When she opened them, he was right in front of her, very close. "I just want things back to normal, you know?"

"I do," Alek whispered as he raised his arms to grasp her shoulders, then he turned her around and started walking towards her work again, one arm still around her. "When we find Zane and the woman who shot you, we'll consider cutting back. For now, it's too dangerous."

Chloe nodded, lifting her hand to hold onto his arm that was around her - she didn't want him to drop it. "So now there'll be four with me at school, plus you?"

"Just me and the two in the classroom. Janelle will stay outside the school, and still go with you wherever you go."

"No hottie for Amy? How will she deal?"

Alek's surprise showed on his face as she glanced up at him. "Hottie? Amy?"

Chloe only chuckled. Amy was right about Alek only having eyes for Chloe. Although Alek knew about the other Mai guy in the school, he hadn't paid attention to him, certainly not to the gawking Amy did when he was around her.

"Do we need to keep him in school?" Alek asked. "We probably can."

"No, but Amy will have to go back to watching you." She knew he would understand that statement, but he still looked confused.

* * *

><p><span>The Hag<span>

"I haven't seen you since you didn't kill the Mai Uniter," Whitley said to Simone as soon as she entered his office.

"You lied to me," she accused as she reached his desk.

"Did I?" he asked, looking back down to his paperwork.

"You said Brian was dead."

"I don't remember saying that," he denied.

"You told me that he kissed her," Simone spat back.

"I may have said that," Whitley agreed, looking at her again.

"That's impossible. He was at work yesterday morning. He's fine."

"Don't sound so disappointed." Whitley voice was getting a little louder.

"Don't lie to me."

"Don't leave Brian alone with Mai!" Whitley snapped. Though he had agreed to meet with Chloe, he wasn't about to tell Simone that. He knew who Simone would tell.

He did decide to bring up the other recent event that really bothered him. "Brian said he went to see his grandmother. It seems the old hag is up to her tricks again."

"Show her some respect," Simone said sharply.

"Why? What have I to do with the Order now? All they have done lately is put my son in danger."

"It's your job to inform your son of this," Simone argued. "And it's not like you've done anything for us anyway."

This argument wasn't helping anything, Whitley was done. He sent Simone away with a wave of his hand. She glared at him, but finally turned and left his office. He couldn't help saying "Keep the hag under control," as she reached the door.

That caused her to turn around and face him again. "Tell Brian," she said, "before it's too late."

* * *

><p><span>Conversations with Alek<span>

Chloe was feeling pretty good as she talked to Alek in her bedroom. There had been no sign of trouble since she had been shot a few days before. She had also managed to avoid Brian, or maybe he was avoiding her. Either way, she knew it was for the best.

She had convinced Alek to enter her home with her when they arrived. Janelle stayed outside. She knew there was one other Mai near her house somewhere, though she didn't see him - not that she looked for him. She appreciated what the Mai around her were doing, but felt a little guilty when she saw them, so she had stopped looking for them.

What was important was that Alek was in her room with her, talking to her. The conversation wasn't quite what she had hoped it would be, she thought things would have to calm down around her before she could get that from him. But he was here, and that was enough for now.

"You don't know who they are, where they're coming from?" Chloe asked Alek, referring to the Mai that would appear in her classroom tomorrow.

"No. Does it matter?"

"Yes," Chloe said. "I don't want them coming from Sao Paulo, or probably from New York, either."

She was paying attention to him, so it was only in the back of her mind that she hear a click and a whoosh as he said "They'll be checked out, Chloe. No one will come that..."

"Alek!" she cried as he fell stiffly to the floor. She leaned over him and shook him as she repeated his name. "Alek..."

She might have said more, but her senses were heightened to the potential danger around her. She heard another click, another whoosh...


	9. Chapter 9

Any Minute

It wasn't really slow-motion, Chloe's mind was just working very quickly. She knew where the poison dart was going to hit her if she didn't move, and how she could move to have it miss her. She also knew she didn't want another sent her way. She didn't have time to play with her assailant – Alek, if he was still alive, needed help immediately.

As she moved to let the dart pass by her she realized that she couldn't let her attacker hear it hit the wall behind her. She screamed "Noooooo…" As loud as she could, hoping to cover whatever sound the dart made when it landed, hoping the Mai who were supposed to be outside would hear her.

She cut herself off suddenly and tried to be convincing as she crumpled to the floor. As she fell, she noticed that Alek's eyes were open, so she tried keep hers open as well. She didn't think she would have to be convincing for long – just long enough for the attacker to believe he had her and to see what he would do next.

She didn't have to wait long, but it was really hard to keep her blank stare going as Zane tentatively approached her, pulled her head up by her hair to look into her eyes, then let it fall to the floor again.

It had taken only a few seconds, but it seemed to last forever as he did it. He had been holding a large knife the entire time, but now she saw him kneel close to her and pull something out of his jacket pocket, laying it – them on the floor. He was pulling out more poison darts. She realized then what his plan was – kill her, then, when she opened her eyes, he would poison her and kill her again.

Zane stood, still holding the knife in one hand, a poison dart in the other. His words were chilling. "Alek can still hear you Chloe, though you can't really speak. He could see you, if we move to where his eyes are faced. Maybe…"

He was interrupted by the door to her bedroom flying open. Janelle entered the room and moved towards Zane. Chloe watched as Zane turned to face Janelle, crouching slightly. As soon as his head faced away from her, Chloe moved.

She wasn't sure how the darts worked, but she knew which end to poke someone with. She picked up a dart and plunged it into Zane just as he moved against Janelle. The other Mai girl had shifted position, trying to avoid a stab of the knife, but it looked like Zane might have hit with the dart in his other hand. Chloe wasn't sure, at first, if Janelle had managed to avoid the dart, but she soon crumpled to the floor, just after Zane fell.

Chloe kept her eyes on Zane's frozen form as she let herself take a few deep breaths before running to find her phone and pressing the buttons.

"Chloe?" Valentina answered immediately.

"Zane came. Alek and Janelle were poisoned. I don't know if…" Chloe couldn't finish.

"Are you at home?"

"Yeah. In my room."

"We're nearly there," Valentina said. "We'll be there in a few minutes."

"What? Nearly here?" Chloe asked, but Valentina was gone.

She was confused, but Chloe scanned the people in her room – all frozen and lying on the floor. She went to the darts and knife still on the floor. She couldn't bring herself to touch them, so she just kicked them out of the way, making sure the knife, especially, ended up far away from Zane.

She went to the door of her hallway and called "Mom?" Not that she expected her mother to be home yet, but the time of her arrival was getting close and she just wanted to be sure.

When she heard no response, the Uniter moved to sit next to Alek, leaned over and whispered into his ear, "Valentina's coming. She should be here any minute.'

* * *

><p><span>Them First...<span>

Valentina arrived with several others. She went straight to Alek, pulled a syringe out of a small case she had brought with her, and stuck Alek in his arm. When the syringe was empty, she moved to Janelle and did the same thing.

Chloe just watched. She knew Valentina was helping the others, and she was too tired to say anything anyway. Her head hurt too, though she had not yet taken the time to examine it.

When Valentina stood up from Janelle, Chloe said, "You got here really fast."

"You can thank Janelle. When you and the others arrived at your home, she didn't see Jason – the one who stayed at your house while you were gone. When she found him, he was frozen, and she called us. We knew he was poisoned, so we got the antidotes and came. She stayed with him waiting for us to arrive. Before we arrived, she heard your scream and called me again while she was going to help you."

Chloe looked at Janelle. She was sitting, her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms folded on her knees with her head buried in them. She didn't respond to those talking about her, but Chloe was relieved that she had at least moved, that she was breathing.

"Will Jason be OK?" The Uniter asked.

"I hope so. Kassandra went to him while we came here."

"Kassandra." Chloe repeated. "The one who examined me."

"Yes." Valentina confirmed. "If he can be saved, she can do it. She is as good a healer as there is among the Mai. There's a reason we had her examine you."

Valentina continued to stare at Chloe, at Chloe's head, but the Uniter was not sure why. "We need to have her look at you again."

Chloe looked away. Her head still hurt, but she did not know what Valentina was seeing. She tried to change the subject. "And Alek and Janelle? Will they be OK?"

"They will," Kassandra said as she entered the room. "Valentina was well-trained and knew how to administer the antidote."

It looked like the healer was going to Alek, but she stopped suddenly and looked directly at Chloe. When she turned to move towards Chloe, the Uniter spoke, pointing to the injured Mai.

"No. Alek first, and Janelle."

Kassandra hesitated, a concerned look on her face, then she turned and went to Alek. After a brief examination, she pulled a syringe out of her bag and gave him another shot. She moved to Janelle, examined her, and had a brief, whispered conversation with her.

Then she moved back to Chloe, who was sitting on her bed now. She stood in front of the Uniter, but spoke to the Pride leader first. "Janelle was treated fairly quickly, she should recover in a few hours. Alek had it in his system longer before receiving the antidote. He should be fine, but I'll need to examine him again in the morning."

Valentina actually let out a sigh of relief as Kassandra turned back to Chloe. The Healer touched the Uniter's head, right at the hairline. "What did he do to you? Does it hurt?"

Chloe bit her lip and nodded.

Kassandra's hand moved to the side of Chloe's head. "There's bruising here, too."

At that point, Meredith entered the room, though she was looking behind her. "Chloe, do you know how many people there are outside our house?" Then she gasped as she saw Chloe and Kassandra.

"Mom," the Uniter quickly said, "I'm OK."

Meredith approached her daughter, shaking her head, concerned look on her face.

Kassandra took Chloe by the hand, pulled the Uniter up, then grabbed her bag with her other hand. "I need a mirror and running water. Come join us in the bathroom, Ms. King."

* * *

><p><span>Not Just a Healer<span>

"Does that feel better?" the Healer asked the Uniter.

Chloe nodded as she looked in the mirror, "Yeah, but it's still ugly."

"I can only deal with the pain," Kassandra said, putting the items used back into her bag. "The ugly will have to heal on its own."

Meredith was staring at the bruising as well. "What happened?"

"Zane attacked me," her daughter responded. "He tried to poison me so I would be frozen and he could kill me – over and over."

Chloe heard a quick intake of breath from her mother, and quickly added "He didn't get to me, with the poison anyway. But he did manage to pull my hair and hit my head against the floor."

"Where is he?" Meredith asked, her face hard.

Chloe couldn't help smiling a little. "I got some of the poison into him. The Mai took him away awhile ago. I'm not sure what they're going to do with him."

"Whatever they do, I hope it hurts," Meredith muttered.

"It already has," Kassandra said. "The poison is not without pain."

Chloe couldn't read the Healer's expression, but was a little surprised as Kassandra turned to her just as she opened the door to leave. "Do you still feel nothing where you were shot?"

The Uniter shook her head. "I haven't noticed anything."

The Healer nodded, but added, "When things have settled down for you, would you be willing to come by my office so we can x-ray the area?"

"Sure; but, you have an office?"

"Most doctors do," the Healer responded, giving her card to Chloe. "Call me when you can do this, or if you have any other problems. Valentina wanted you to go through her to see me, but that won't be necessary."

Chloe noticed the 'MD' after the Healer's name on her card. "You're a regular doctor too."

Kassandra nodded, saying "Don't be afraid to call me if you need to - I'll do anything I can for you," as she went through the door.

* * *

><p><span>The Meeting<span>

"Try to rest," Valentina said as she prepared to leave. All of the Mai who were still in the house were downstairs with Chloe and Meredith. "There will be Mai in your classes with you tomorrow, as well as more around you and your home. Nothing like this will happen again."

Chloe nodded. She wasn't thrilled about the situation, but she wasn't going to argue, not after what had just happened. "I understand. Thanks for everything."

She had given as much of a hug as she thought she could to Alek, had told him thanks. But he really wasn't feeling well yet, she was told he might not be in school the next day.

Janelle, however, would be there. As bothered as Chloe was by Janelle's presence at first, she had come to appreciate her, and with Alek probably absent, she was grateful that the Mai girl would be with her.

"How's Jasmine," Chloe asked Kassandra, who was the last to leave, just before she went through the door.

"Stable, but still critical," the dark-haired Healer responded.

Chloe could only nod as the last of her Mai rescuers left. Jasmine and now Alek – both were hurt because of her.

The Uniter closed the door and turned around to find her mother looking at her.

"Are you really all right, Chloe?" Meredith asked.

Chloe nodded. "Better than anyone else who was here."

Meredith sighed. "You've died twice. This kind of thing has happened to you before, but I didn't know."

Chloe said "Sorry." It was all she could say, she wasn't sure what her mother was getting at.

"If you hadn't told me who you are, you would have tried to keep this from me, wouldn't you?"

Chloe couldn't answer. She just looked into her mothers eyes, trying not to nod.

Meredith finally hugged Chloe, "Are you sure you want to meet with Whitley tomorrow?"

"I'm sure," Chloe whispered as her mother pulled away. "But I'm really glad that you'll be there."

* * *

><p><em>As you might be able to tell from the time that has elapsed since the last chapter was posted , it was really, really hard to write this after the show was cancelled. I am afraid that no one will care now that the show is gone, but I still want to finish the story. There are a few loose ends, and I <span>really<span> like Chloe…_

_Still, it's hard. Time will tell whether or not I can keep this up…_

_John Reed_


	10. Chapter 10

_It's still Halloween here, so Happy Halloween. Let's hope this is more of a treat than a trick..._

Breakfast

"Hi, Mom," Chloe said as she reached the kitchen.

"Hey, Kiddo," was Meredith's automatic reply, not even looking up from her paper. It took a few seconds for everything that had happened recently to register, and she put per paper down.

"How's your head," she asked before she realized what Chloe was doing.

"It's fine. No pain, even the ugly is gone."

"Come here, let me see." Meredith motioned for her daughter approach the table where she sat with her newspaper and coffee.

Chloe put the spatula down and walked to her mother. She leaned in to let her mother closely examine the area of her head that had been injured.

"It is gone," Meredith said, sounding a little unsure as she ran her fingers over the area that was bruised the night before. "How? It doesn't look like makeup."

"It's not," Chloe said. "I just heal fast."

"Does it still hurt? Did it keep you awake?"

"No," the Mai girl answered, shaking her head. "Whatever Kassandra put on it for pain yesterday worked all night, and she gave me something to make sure I would sleep. I slept fine."

"No damage at all left?" Meredith asked, still running her fingers on Chloe's head.

"No, no damage left on or in my head."

Meredith let her daughter pull her head away, then, with a slight smirk, asked, "Then why are you cooking yourself breakfast?"

Chloe backed away with a snort. "It's not like my mom makes breakfast for me – unless she has a new boyfriend or something." The Uniter went back to her eggs.

Meredith watched her daughter for a few more seconds before saying, "You're not rushing out to see Paul or Amy before school?" When no answer came, she said "Chloe?"

Chloe didn't turn around, but did answer. "I just don't know what's out there. I have no idea what arrangements Valentina made overnight, but…" She turned to face her mother, saying, "I just don't know what to expect."

Meredith could see that, even if Chloe felt no more pain, her daughter still felt stress. "Do you want me to drive you to school?" The question was gentle, as was the expression on Meredith's face.

Chloe nodded. "Could you? I don't really want to go alone – not that I would be by myself, but…"

"Of course," Meredith said when Chloe let her voice trail off.

"Maybe you'll get another 'assistant'," Chloe said as she returned to her cooking.

"Maybe," Meredith responded, "though I doubt it. I'm not really the target in all of this." She immediately wished she hadn't said 'target', but Chloe didn't seem to react to it.

Chloe took a deep breath as she moved the eggs from the pan to her plate, wondering exactly how many Mai would be around her now. She hadn't looked outside or listened to see if more Mai had arrived, but she was nervous about what she and her mother would find when they left the house.

"Let them do what they need to for you," Meredith advised as the Mai teen carried her plate and sat at the table, across from the human.

"I will," Chloe promised. It was a promise she planned to keep, even if she really wasn't looking forward to whatever they had in store for her.

* * *

><p><span>Space<span>

Brian watched as Chloe left her mother's car and walked towards the school. He told himself he was respecting her wishes, he was giving her space, but that didn't mean he couldn't watch her from a distance.

As soon as Chloe left the car, the other girl - the girl that had been with him when she told him to give her space - was there. As the two girls walked towards the school he was sure his father was right, for some reason the other girl was there to protect her. He didn't see Alek, but did see several others that seemed to close in around Chloe, then match her pace as they entered the school building.

He wondered if it was his imagination, but after what his father said, after what Chloe said, he was probably seeing things as they were. What he didn't know was how to find out what was happening, but he resolved to find a way to figure it out.

* * *

><p><span>Lucky<span>

Chloe tried not to look at the people around her as she walked in the halls. She knew most of the people she saw, but there were a few faces that were new. At least, if they were Mai, they were giving her some space. Janelle seemed to be glued to her shoulder, but she had expected that, she was even a little relieved by it. Still, as she walked through the halls of the school, Chloe expected to hear the speakers blare something like, "Please welcome our hundred temporary visitors. They are here to keep an eye on Chloe King. Let them do whatever they need to, but, whatever happens, don't kiss them…"

"He's still here!" Chloe heard Amy's excited whisper from next to her on the side opposite Janelle.

When Chloe looked at her friend with a confused look, Amy whispered, "The hottie. You said he would be gone, but he's still here."

Chloe had to remind herself that Amy would not know what had happened the night before. "Lucky you."

"I know," Amy responded, then noticed Chloe's expression. "She's still here too," Amy added, nodding towards to Janelle. "Did the classroom Mai not arrive yet?"

"I don't know," Chloe said as she opened her locker, grabbed the needed book, then started moving to her first class.

As Amy walked with Chloe for a few steps, she noticed that Janelle stayed right next to Chloe the entire time Then she realized who was not nearby. "Chloe, where's Alek? Did something happen?"

The Uniter stopped and had to take a breath as she nodded. "Zane happened. Alek's hurt, but should be back soon."

Amy looked speechless for once. Before Amy said anything, Chloe said, "I promise, I'll tell you everything, but I need to get to class now."

"'Kay," was all Amy was able to get out before watching Chloe walk away with Janelle. It took the bell to snap her out of her trance enough for her to go to her own class.

* * *

><p><span>Interest<span>

"Brian?"

He recognized her voice, and looked up from his work to see Simone standing near him.

"The girl you were with at the night of the event," Simone began, "the night we first met. Chloe, was it?"

Brian looked at her confused, but nodded. "I was with Chloe that night."

"Have you seen her recently?"

He looked even more confused and only managed to say "What?"

"It's just I haven't seen her with you recently," Simone said quickly. "She seemed like a nice girl and I wonder if she's all right."

"She's fine," Brian said. He was still confused, but Simone was his supervisor, and it seemed nice of her to take an interest in him. "I saw her this morning, she's fine."

"I'm glad. So you still see her?"

"Yeah, I saw her this morning," Brian repeated.

"Okay," Simone said as she turned and left. "Just wondering."

As soon as she was back in her own office, Simone pulled her phone out. She was about to call, but thought better of it. She knew Zane had planned to move against the Mai Uniter the previous night. If Chloe was still alive, he must have failed.

Still, she had been careful. Even if the Mai took Zane's phone, they would find no trace of her or the Order there.

There was a plan in place. She couldn't keep herself from asking Brian about Chloe, couldn't help trying to find out if Zane had been successful, but perhaps he had pulled the plug on his attack for some reason.

She briefly considered going to where Zane was staying, but quickly discarded that idea. If the Mai had found it, she could not been seen there.

She decided she had no choice but to wait for the meeting she had planned with Zane that evening. She was, however, getting a sick feeling that they had failed to take out Chloe. Again.

* * *

><p><span>Relief<span>

"You're not going home?" Janelle asked Chloe. They had just left Chloe's work, but instead of the usual route to her house, Chloe was headed in a different direction.

"Not tonight. I need to meet my mom."

Janelle walked beside the Uniter in silence for awhile before asking, "Where are we going?"

"To meet my mom," Chloe repeated.

"You're not going to tell me," Janelle observed.

"You'll know soon enough," Chloe said.

Another brief silence followed, before Janelle asked, "Would Alek approve of where we're going?"

This caught Chloe off guard. She stopped and turned to face the other Mai girl. "Alek?"  
>The Uniter had expected a question about Valentina's approval, but not Alek's.<p>

"I've heard enough about you," Janelle began. "and I've seen enough to know that you do not care what Valentina thinks about what you do. But you do care what Alek thinks."

Chloe turned from Janelle and resumed her walking, without responding. She had been worried about Alek all day, had wanted to call him to see how he was, but had not worked up the nerve.

"He'll be back tomorrow," Janelle said as they walked. "Back in school with you."

"So he's okay?"

"He is. Him and me - we're both fine now, Chloe."

Chloe breathed a sigh of relief, but only nodded as she walked.

"We'll both do anything we can for you," Janelle continued, "but don't you think we should know what to expect? Shouldn't I know where you're taking me?"

"My mom and I have a meeting, all you will need to do is wait for me," Chloe said, hoping it would prove to be true.

* * *

><p><span>Glares<span>

"Anne, this is Chloe," Meredith introduced. "Chloe, my new 'assistant'."

"Another?" Chloe asked. "From today?"

Meredith shook her head. "From Monday. No one new today."

Chloe nodded and asked "This is it – where we're meeting him?" They were in front of a nice restaurant.

When Meredith nodded, Chloe asked "Am I dressed OK for this?"

"Whitley assured me there would be no problem with that," Meredith said. "Let's go in."

They entered and were immediately seen by Whitley. He approached just as they were being approached by someone from the restaurant.

"They're with me, Bernard" Whitley said as he reached them. Bernard nodded and backed away.

When Whitley saw the two Mai with Chloe and her mother, he said, "It was supposed to be just you two."

"You were supposed to be alone," Meredith said, pointing at the table Whitley had come from – a table still occupied by six other men.

"They are clients, not henchmen," Whitley said. "Are yours?"

"They won't go in with us," Chloe said. "And you know they won't do anything in public like this."

Whitley nodded. He really had come alone, and he had expected Chloe to have other Mai with her. It was the reason he had suggested such a public place for their meeting – a public place filled with people who knew him.

Janelle was glaring at Chloe now. "Whitley Rezza?" At least she was speaking softly.

"Yes," the Untier said firmly. "And Valentina doesn't need to know – not yet."

"Doesn't she?" Janelle challenged, her face just as hard as Chloe's.

"She doesn't. This meeting is not about her." Then Chloe turned to Whitley. "Mr. Rezza, where will we be meeting?"

Whitley pointed to a closed door. Chloe nodded towards it and said to Janelle, "Can you check that out before we go in?" Then she spoke to Whitley again. "They'll need a table nearby."

Janelle looked indignant, but she motioned to Anne, who followed her through the door.

"Bernard," Whitley said, "we'll need a table for two – that one, if possible." He pointed to the table, then turned to Meredith and said, "I need to excuse myself from my table." He went to his original table and spoke to the men there. Chloe listened to him briefly, but when she realized he was doing what he said he would, she faced her mother.

"Are we ready for this?" the Uniter asked Meredith.

"We?" Meredith asked, her face serious. "This is your meeting. This is what you wanted."

"It's fine." Janelle said as she and Anne emerged from the small banquet room they had just investigated. "Chloe…"

"Thank you," Chloe interrupted. "We'll leave the door open enough for you to hear us."

Janelle's glare softened slightly as she and Anne sat at the table that had been prepared for them.

"Shall we?" Whitley said from behind Chloe. Chloe glanced at Janelle, but instead of the hoped for support, she saw only a mixture of glare and unease. As Whitley led Chloe and her mother into the small banquet room, the Uniter wondered, again, if Valentina was right about her being reckless.


	11. Chapter 11

The Phone

Simone was getting nervous. She had done little but worry after her conversation with Brian, and it didn't help that Zane was late. He had always been on time before.

She had picked a public place for their meeting – a busy mall parking lot. She was able to watch the spot Zane was supposed to appear at from nearby – another spot in the parking lot. She saw no sign of anyone else watching their meeting place, but she was not going to approach until he did. That was their agreed-upon procedure.

She let worry consume her as she waited. She feared she had lost Whitley's trust, if not his support for her. She also thought that Brian was the problem, he had mentioned his visit to the Order's leader to Whitley even when he was asked not to say anything. She wasn't sure how much Whitley had been told about Brian's visit, nothing had really happened. Still, Whitley was on to them now.

At least she had confirmed that Chloe was the Uniter. That was all she would be able to give the Order, unless Zane was still around.

She stopped waiting when he was 15 minutes late. There was a procedure to follow if he couldn't make the meeting - he would contact her tomorrow. Still, she was worried enough that she couldn't stop herself from at least trying to reach him. She started her car and moved it to park near the entrance to a busy store.

As soon as she was in the store, Simone approached the most un-Mai like woman she could find and asked, "Do you have a phone I could borrow? I'm having car trouble and need to call someone."

When she was given the phone, she called Zane's number. The phone was answered, but not with a voice, just a click. She didn't speak, she just listened to the silence for a few seconds, then disconnected. She was nearly certain now that Zane had failed and was dead or captured.

She briefly considered ditching the phone, but it wouldn't keep the Mai from finding its owner. The owner was distracted, anyway, and Simone knew that, even if they did talk to the owner, she would not be able to give much of a description of the woman who had borrowed her phone. The Mai could get a better description out of Chloe, if that was what they wanted.

She returned phone with a soft 'thank you', then left the mall, wondering if she should send Brian to Zane's room to see if he could find any sign that Zane was still there.

* * *

><p><span>The Meeting<span>

Chloe was trying to force herself to feel something, trying to force her empathic power to work on Whitley as she followed him into the room. It wasn't working, so she decided to try to touch him - that sometimes triggered feelings.

"Mr. Rezza?" She began. He had pointed at a couple of chairs for her and her mother to sit at, but stopped and turned to look at her. "Can we start with a…handshake?"

Both adults were looking at her like she was crazy, and she wondered if it was too weird, when Whitley took a step in her direction and offered his hand.

It didn't help, Chloe got nothing as she weakly took his hand before moving to sit, blushing slightly. Whitley looked at Meredith, who was already sitting. She just shook her head and said "I'm good."

It was a long table – 15 or 16 chairs. Chloe and her mother sat on one side, near the door, Whitley sat immediately across from the Uniter. True to her promise to Janelle, Chloe left the door slightly ajar, knowing the Mai girl would not let anyone else get close enough to hear their conversation.

After demanding the handshake, Chloe expected some kind of sarcastic comment from Whitley. It didn't come, all he did was ask "So, what is this about?"

Chloe wished she had thought more about what she was going to say – she had been putting that off until last night, or today. But Zane happened, and she hadn't been able to think about it.

"You know who I am," the Uniter began, "I mean, other than being the daughter of someone whose company you will be investing in."

She forced a small smile at her attempt at a joke, but Whitley didn't react other than to nod slightly and say, "I know."

She took a breath, then added, "I just thought we should talk. I don't want to hurt anyone, I'm not hurting anyone. I'm hoping you might stop the people trying to kill me."

Whitley had kept eye contact with her to this point, his face serious, though not really glaring. Now he glanced towards Meredith for a few seconds, then he spoke to Chloe. "Do you know who you are, what you are?"

Chloe nodded and softly replied, "The Uniter."

"Do you know what that means? Do you know what is said about you?"

"Said? Said by who?" Chloe asked.

"The Order." Whitley clarified. "Do you know what they say?"

Chloe shook her head. "I don't know. I don't really know that much about what the Mai say about the Uniter, just that they're really glad I'm here." She glanced at her mother who was listening attentively, before her eyes returned to Whitley and she added "most of them, anyway."

Whitley gave her a questioning look, so she said, "Maybe all of them. Some of them just want to control me."

"You really have no idea of what you mean to the Mai, or to humans." He said it like it was a realization.

Chloe shook her head. "I wasn't raised by Mai. I didn't go to Mai school or Order school. I don't know what anyone says about me, I just know I'm the Uniter."

"Well, it's not good, not for humans."

Chloe's expression darkened as she tried to understand. "What do you mean?"

"Mai and humans don't mix," Whitley said. "The power you bring to them…"

"Chloe would never hurt anyone," Meredith interrupted. "I've told you that before."

Whitley skewered Chloe with his stare. "It seems I was misinformed. I was told your mother knows everything about you. Perhaps you forgot to mention…" he let his words trail off.

Meredith wondered what he meant, and Chloe's reaction didn't give her any comfort, but she came to her daughter's defense anyway. "Chloe would never intentionally hurt anyone. We didn't come here to be insulted." She turned from Whitley to Chloe and asked "Do you want to leave?"

Chloe shook her head and kept her eyes fixed on Whitley. "I've never hurt anyone on purpose, and I know what not to do. You should know that – ask Brian."

At the mention of Brian, Whitley shot Chloe a quick glare, but quickly regained his composure. "And you should know that there's been more than one incident since you were identified as the Uniter."

Chloe was confused, slightly, and she knew it showed. "I…I'm not the only one here, but no one here would do anything like that on purpose." She believed what she was saying, though she remembered stopping one of the Sao Paulo Mai from killing someone.

Whitley recognized Chloe's confusion, and he believed her, based on what Brian had told him. "Well someone did it. We know the signs."

Chloe could feel her mother looking at her, but didn't want to turn, didn't want to see her face just then. She took a calming breath and said, "Some who have come to visit aren't as…caring about humans as we are here. Some aren't as caring about Mai, either. Zane, for instance." She gave him a look meant to say 'you know who I mean'.

Whitley saw the look and replied with a straight face. "I don't know who you mean."

"The Mai guy who tried to kill me last night. You didn't send him?"

Chloe could see the confusion on his face as he shook his head, then almost looked thoughtful. She was a little relieved, actually, that Brian's father was unaware of Zane, if nothing else.

Meredith spoke now, looking at both of them. "It sounds like neither of you really know what's going on, or you at least don't know everything that's happening."

"I know the Mai are dangerous," Whitley said.

"I know someone's still trying to kill me, whether you know them or not," Chloe said.

They looked at each other briefly before Whitley spoke to Meredith. "You have no idea how dangerous she is. Her coming has been feared for centuries – she could well be the end of us all."

Chloe snorted. "Drama, much?" When both looked at her, she added, "I'm supposed to unite, not kill."

"The Order doesn't exactly see it that way," Whitley countered.

"I don't care what the Order 'sees'." Chloe said. She was getting tired and was not sure this was getting them anywhere. "I don't care what the Mai say I am either. Neither will tell me what I have to do. I just want to be left alone and I want Mai and humans to live in peace. We don't have to kill each other."

"But the deaths still happen," Whitley said, in a tone Chloe really didn't understand.

"All the more reason for you and me to work together," Chloe said. "We don't have to be afraid of each other. The Mai in San Francisco don't want to hurt anyone, and we would help stop any Mai that did try to hurt people. The Assassin died because he was trying to kill me – I just want to be left alone."

Whitley considered what she was saying briefly, it seemed to agree with what Brian had told him about her. "Do the Mai follow a teenage girl?"

Meredith saw Chloe's expression of defeat, so she spoke to Whitley. "Yes. I didn't spend very long with them, but they listen to her. When they want her to do something and she refuses, they go along with her. Not that she gave them orders, or anything like that, but they listen to her, they do what she wants."

Chloe had been watching her mother as Meredith spoke, but the Uniter turned to try to see Whitley's reaction. She hadn't figured it out when her mother spoke again.

"And they will do anything to protect Chloe. If there is an army of them here, and I think there might be, it is because you are trying to kill her."

"Not me," Whitely denied, looking at the empty table in front of him as if it were his desk and there was something to read or sign on it. He knew there was some truth to her statement, but felt what he had said was the truth as well, because he hadn't know about the previous night.

"If you only knew what the Mai have done to my family," Whitley said softly, still staring at the table in front of him.

Chloe wondered what he meant, but decided that if he hadn't told Brian exactly what happened, he was not likely to tell her. She hesitated, then said "That wasn't me. I don't know what happened, but whatever it was, it wasn't me."

When Whitley lifted his eyes to look at her, she added, "I don't want to be your enemy. If the Mai are doing something they shouldn't, I will stop them. Would you just call off the people trying to kill me – like the woman who shot me?"

"Describe her," Whitley said, trying to show that he had any idea of who it was.

"Slim, short hair, knew who I was," Chloe said, knowing it wasn't much of a description. She couldn't say much more, she was too shocked, too busying dying, to worry about a really good description. "Said something like we need to talk about me, if I come back to life."

"Do you know who she is?" Meredith asked after Whitley didn't say anything.

"I'm sure she's part of the Order," he said. "I'm not really associated with them right now."

"Then you can't help me?" Chloe asked. "You can't ask them to call off their goons?" She knew she looked desperate, but didn't try to control it. "I really don't want any human to be hurt by Mai, and I really will do all I can to prevent it."

Whitley seemed to sigh as he said, "A Mai woman threatened me, and Brian."

When Chloe looked shocked, Meredith said "I didn't tell her that."

"That's not OK," Chloe said, angrily. "I've told them to leave you alone, and I will tell them again."

"I heard you tell them, Chloe," Meredith quickly said. "It happened before you told them that."

"Still," Chloe said. Both adults could tell she was fuming.

Whitley watched her reaction, still a little amazed, even after all Brian had told him about her. Hearing about the way she tried to protect Brian was one thing, seeing her reaction to a threat to Brian, was another.

"Very well," he said, "I will try to get word to them to stop attacking you, to leave you alone. But I warn you, if the Mai harm anyone unprovoked, I will work with the Order to destroy whoever did it."

"If it's unprovoked, so will I," Chloe said. "Then we have an agreement?"

Whitley just stared at her as he said "It doesn't make us allies."

"It does if the Mai hurt someone," Chloe said, rising from the table. "Thank you. I'll look forward to you, at least, not trying to kill me."

Whitley was nodding as Chloe turned, pulled the door opened, and, followed by her mother, walked towards Janelle.

"Did you tell anyone?" Chloe asked her Mai protector.

Janelle shook her head. "We do as you ask, whether we like it or not. At least I do as you ask."

Chloe nodded, gave a smile of thank you, and pulled out her phone. She had heard the tone for voicemail a little earlier.

"Chloe," Brian's voice said, "I know you're keeping your distance from me, but I was thinking of going back to my grandmother's this weekend. Do you want to go with me?"


	12. Chapter 12

The Threats

Chloe held her breath as she entered the school. She knew Janelle was nearby, though not as close as the previous day. Janelle was giving her a little space. She hoped it was because Alek was there. She had done little but think about Alek after Janelle told her he should be back in school today.

She had talked to Whitley and had been able to keep her mind on that conversation, while she was having it, at least. There was the message from Brian, but she hadn't given that much thought. She would, of course, at least think about his offer - but not now. For now she was concentrating on Alek.

Not that she knew what to expect, or what to do when she saw him. She entered the school with no plan at all, just the anticipation of seeing him and knowing he would feel better than the last time she saw him.

It was Amy that Chloe met first. Her friend ran up to her and grabbed her arm, practically pulling Chloe to her locker.

"Tonight." Amy said as she pulled Chloe along.

"Tonight?" the Uniter asked.

"Tonight you're with me. You've ignored me ever since…" Amy was going to say ever since Chloe was shot, but thought better of it. "But tonight, you're with me."

"I haven't been ignoring you. Things have just been…hard."

Amy wasn't dissuaded from her plan. "Well they can be hard around me. Tonight, you're with me."

"Fine," Chloe sighed as she opened her locker.

"And you'll show some enthusiasm," Amy added as she turned around to face someone who was tugging at her arm, trying to gently pull her away from Chloe.

"Let's give them a minute," Janelle whispered. Amy had taken a few steps away from Chloe as Janelle pulled her, but now she looked back to her friend. Chloe didn't seem to notice that Amy was gone, she was just looking into her locker, when Amy saw Alek approach her best friend.

"Chloe," Alek said to the Uniter, who had just closed her locker. Chloe gasped as she faced him, a startled look on her face.

"Alek," was all Chloe manage gasp as she looked into his eyes. He had a little smile, maybe a smirk, on has face. She realized, after a few seconds, that she was gaping, open-mouthed, at him. She quickly forced her mouth closed.

She gave into an impulse and pulled him into a hug. She made it short when she realized that he was barely returning the hug.

"Are you OK" she asked him. When he nodded in reply, she added, "I was so worried."

"I'm fine." Alek said, with words this time.

"I can't begin to thank you for what you did."

Chloe was surprised when he shook his head at this.

"I was there," he said. "I saw what happened. I'm alive because of what you did, because you were able to call for help."

"No," Chloe argued, wondering why, even now, they were arguing again. "Valentina was already on her way. If you hadn't been with me, Zane would have had me. But you were with me, and I can't thank you enough for it."

By this time, Alek had decided it wasn't worth an argument. "I'll always be with you. I'll do any anything I can for you."

"I know," Chloe said, holding his eyes.

"And you'll keeping making it as hard as you can for me."

Chloe drew in a breath, ready to respond, before what he said clicked in her mind. She watched his face transition from fairly friendly to a little hard.

"What?" she asked.

"Whitley Rezza?" Alek accused. "You met with Whitley Rezza?"

She broke eye contact and scanned the area around her looking for Janelle. "Did Janelle tell everyone?"

"Just me," Alek said, his eyes moving to look at Janelle at the same time Chloe found her. "It seems Janelle is as trusting of you and what you think as I am."

This brought Chloe's eyes back, to him as he continued, "Why keep it from Valentina?"

"Did Janelle tell you what was said?"

"I got the gist of it," Alek said. "You really think you can trust him?"

Chloe nodded. "He didn't deny anything you guys have said about him. I think he told me the truth, I think he'll leave me alone."

Alek moved his head closer to her and whispered. "But you think that he wasn't involved in the attacks on you."

"I know he didn't attack me, and I'm sure he didn't know about Zane," Chloe whispered back, leaning in so that their heads were even closer.

Alek pulled back, straightened up, and asked in a normal voice, "Are you ever going to tell Valentina?"

"I'm sure I will - sometime. I'm also pretty sure she threatened him, and Brian."

"You can't know that," he argued, looking a little surprised.

"Alek," Chloe said, "please. Let's just keep it to ourselves for now. All I did was get him to agree to leave me alone."

Alek looked into her eyes, knowing she wasn't quite telling him everything. Janelle had told him that she had said she would help take out any Mai that hurt humans, but he knew she would do that anyway.

Alek found himself nodding and softly saying, "For now, but whatever you think of them I still think the Rezzas are threats. I'm still going to try to keep them away from you, and you away from them."

His face wasn't hard anymore, nor was his tone combative, just matter-of-fact. She recognized it for what it was – concern for her.

She managed a small smile and pulled him down to give him a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you," she whispered as she turned and started walking towards Janelle and Amy, Alek keeping pace with her.

"Well," Janelle smirked as Alek and Chloe reached her, "a hug and a kiss. I didn't get either."

"From her, or me?" Alek asked her. When Janelle just smirked, Alek asked "Jealous?"

"Maybe," was Janelle's cryptic reply.

Chloe was watching the banter between the two other Mai when she heard Amy whispering into her ear.

"I warned you. She's hot."

Chloe stopped and turned to her friend. "You said he only has eyes for me."

"I think he does," Amy said. As she turned to go to her own first class, she added "and I think he will, until your eyes look to someone else."

* * *

><p><span>The Apartment<span>

Brian was pretty sure this was not in his job description. Not that he really had one, his father had said Simone was his supervisor. Apparently it meant he was to do anything she asked of him – including this.

He was in a small apartment building, in an apartment that she had given him the key for. It opened the door, so he was doing what she had asked him to do – look for signs that someone was still there. Not that his mind was completely on the job at hand, part of him was wondering why Chloe had not contacted him, why she was ignoring his invitation. He thought she would at least respect him enough to reply.

He looked through the empty apartment, recalling that Simone had said something about the guy who was staying here not having paid for the place for a couple of days. That made no sense to him, this didn't look like a hotel. Still, the other thing she said was even stranger – to keep his eyes open for people that might be watching the place.

He had tried. He waited and watched for awhile, from a spot nearby, before entering – he would do the same again after he left the apartment, but before driving away. Really, though, he didn't know what she expected him to see, he wasn't any where near competent at identifying people who were trying to watch apartments, unseen.

He didn't see anything in the apartment – someone had obviously been there, he could tell it had been lived in recently. But there was nothing there now, no luggage or clothes or anything like that. The apartment wasn't clean, but whoever had been there was gone, leaving nothing behind.

Brian left the place, and looked for a place that he could settle into and watch it for awhile. He found it, and he settled in. He watched it too, seeing nothing, wondering what any of this had to do with Rezza Capital. And he wondered why Chloe hadn't responded to his invitation.

* * *

><p><span>The Picture<span>

Chloe was sitting next to Amy and Paul, watching Alek. He was on his phone, and she could tell he was not very happy as he glanced at her from time to time. He even stopped for a minute, looked at his phone, then spoke into it again.

Finally he approached them, obviously upset. He glanced around them and motioned for Janelle, who was sitting nearby, to join them.

"Brian was seen," he began, speaking softly, looking directly at Chloe, "going into the apartment where Zane had been staying."

Chloe was shocked. "What?" she asked, sounding a little like she couldn't quite believe it.

"After you poisoned him, they were able to find where he had been staying," Alek explained. "They cleaned it out, but they've been watching to see if anyone would look for him there. They were waiting for any accomplice who might have realized he was missing, and who might go there to find him."

"You can't believe Brian had anything to do with those trying to kill me." Chloe said quickly, sounding a little desperate. "He wasn't anywhere near me when I was attacked."

"He was there immediately after you were shot," Alek retorted. "Do you know where he was when Zane attacked us?"

Chloe was getting upset, even worried. She shook her head, but she still couldn't believe Brian would have anything to do with those attacking her. "Alek, he wouldn't hurt me. You know that. He may be jealous of you, but he doesn't want to hurt me."

"He was followed when he left the apartment," Alek continued, seeming to ignore Chloe's statement. "Followed back to Rezza Capital, where he met someone who looks like your description of the 'bitch' who shot you."

Alek handed his phone to Chloe, watching her expression as she saw the picture of Brian and Simone together, talking. Chloe knew it could be the woman who shot her, but was trying to deny it to herself, when Paul spoke.

"Let me see," he said as he reached for the phone. Chloe gave it to him and glanced at Alek before she turned back to watch Paul.

"I think this is the woman I saw leave after you were shot." Paul said. "I think this is her."

Chloe shook her head as Paul offered to return the phone to her. She just put her elbows on the table and buried her head into her hands. She took several deep breaths as she thought, but was unable to reconcile the picture she had just seen with what she believed about Brian.

She wasn't sure how long it took, but she eventually realized that Amy, Paul, Alek and Janelle were quiet. She opened her eyes to find that they were watching her. She still couldn't believe Brian would be involved with anything that might hurt her, but she realized she couldn't' just ignore him now.

"All right," she finally said, looking at Alek. "I need to know, once and for all, if he has anything to do with this. I'll ask him to meet me."

"Chloe…" Alek began, before Chloe cut him off.

"Alek, I'm going to talk to him. I'm going to see what he says."

"Chloe," it was Janelle who spoke this time. "I know you met with his father, and that you believe it when Whitley says he'll leave you alone, but he is not Whitley. Brian is implicated now."

"I know," Chloe nodded and looked at the table briefly. When she looked up, she looked into Alek's eyes. "Alek, I trust you. Do whatever you need to do to make sure where we meet is safe. Be close, but out of sight."

Alek stared as the others, Mai and human, watched him. It seemed like forever before he finally, reluctantly, nodded and said, "Tell him to come alone when he meets you."

"I'll tell him I want it to be just us two," Chloe said as she stood, pulled out her phone, and started to move away from the others, intending to call Brian. "though I doubt I need to say it. I'm sure it's what he wants."

Alek remained with Amy and Paul. Janelle matched Chloe's pace as she walked, but stayed a few feet away as the Uniter stopped, looked back to her friends, and made the call. As she waited for Brian to answer, Chloe found herself looking at Amy. Chloe found herself recalling Amy's warning about the eyes of the Uniter looking to someone other than Alek.


	13. Chapter 13

Rumors

"Why didn't you tell Brian the truth?" Simone demanded. She was getting more upset, knowing she would not be able to stay with the Rezza Capital ruse much longer. Even though Brian had not found anything where Zane had been staying, even though Brian said he saw no one watching it, she was sure the Mai were there and would make the connection from Brian to Rezza Capital.

"Why haven't you told me the truth?" Whitley demanded.

"What do you mean?" Simone asked. "Tell you the truth about what?"

"The attack on the Mai Uniter," Whitley said, curtly.

"The attack on her was your plan." Simone said, "the attack on her and the attack her protectors."

"My plan was not executed." Whitley challenged. "Her protectors remain, are even more numerous. She lives. Whatever happened, it wasn't my plan."

"It may not have worked, but the plan was yours," Simone insisted.

"And further attacks on her are definitely not my plan," Whitley added.

Simone was surprised. "Attacking her is always the plan. She cannot be allowed to live."

"Yet, she lives." Whitley was glaring at her now. "Whatever game you're playing, keep Brian out of it."

Simone became even more concerned. She had not told Whitley about Zane's attack on Chloe, and she had not told him about sending Brian to Zane's apartment. Still, she didn't think Brian had been able to talk to his father since she had sent him there, so she wasn't going to reveal anything.

The only thing she was sure of was that she had lost control of the situation.

"Why haven't you told Brian the truth?" She repeated. "You said Brian told you he visited his grandmother. That would have been the perfect opportunity to tell him, to bring him into all of this."

"I did tell him the truth," Whitley snapped. "I told him his grandmother is dead. But he won't just accept it. His snooping led him to the hag, and if I tell him what the hag is doing, I'll have to tell him everything about what happened with his mother and about the Order."

Simone bristled at Whitley's use of the term 'hag' again, but she tried not to respond. She just said "Brian needs to know…"

"Brian does not need to know," Whitley insisted. "I couldn't protect his mother or …." He didn't finish the statement, but he added, "But I can protect Brian from this. He doesn't ever have to know about any of it."

"You really believe that?" Simone asked. "Even while he's dating the Mai Uniter?"

"He's not dating her." Whitley said.

"Of course not. Even though you told me he kissed her."

Whitley drew in a breath, but stayed silent. He wished he hadn't mentioned the kiss to Simone.

"What's even more curious is that he lives. He's not disabled, he's not dead. Don't you find that odd?"

Whitley just glared at her, so Simone continued "Unless the rumors are true."

"What rumors?" Whitley asked.

"The rumor that Brian's mother was working with the Mai to try to…resolve that problem."

The anger in Whitley's reaction startled Simone. He stood up and literally yelled at her. "Keep Brian and his mother out of your rumors! And keep Brian and me out of your plans to kill the Mai Uniter." He pointed at the door as he added, "You know the way out."

Simone left without looking back – until she reached the door. She was surprised at Whitley's strong reaction; and though she had just about decided it was a mistake to mention Brian, his mother and the rumors, she didn't want to appear weak as she left.

"Remember whose side you're on," she said as she closed the door behind her.

She was pretty sure now that, between the Mai and Whitley, she needed to get out of Rezza Capital.

Still, she resolved to make one more attempt to deal with the Mai Uniter herself before she had to face the Order's leader again.

* * *

><p><span>Brian<span>

Alek was not happy. As usual, he had done as Chloe asked. He and a number of other Mai had made sure that Chloe and Brian would be left alone, but Chloe could tell that nothing she said was making Alek feel any better about the meeting.

"Fine," the Uniter finally said. "Next time, I'll just have him go to my house. You guys already have that covered – it should no trouble at all."

"Next time?" Alek asked. "Exactly how many 'once and for all' conversations do you intend to have with him?"

Chloe knew she was messing this up, but she really did think that talking to Brian was the right thing to do. Still, she couldn't force her face to turn hard as she responded. She wasn't sure what her expression was as she said, "Just this one."

She saw Alek's eyes look past her briefly, then return to hers. "Good. Here he comes."

She didn't turn around, she just watched Alek as he ran towards a group of trees that she knew held other Mai, wondering how she could get him to realize that she agreed with him. She really did want to make her feelings for Brian stop.

Alek was out of sight before she heard Brian approach. Well, before she heard someone approach, but she was sure that the Mai would let no one approach her except Brian.

She used the time before he reached her to try to control her expression. She had to be firm; before this was over, she had to be sure about what Brian's involvement was with those trying to kill her.

"Chloe," Brian said as he went around the where she was sitting, and sat on the opposite side. "Why is this place so quiet."

"I arranged a nice, quiet meeting," she said, trying to keep her face blank. "It's what you wanted, right?"

"OK," Brian said slowly. "It's not really what I asked for, I just wanted to know if you would go with me Saturday."

She studied him and his expression, then said, "take my hand," as she reached across the table.

He took it, though a little tentatively. "Does this mean you're 'safe' now? Do you not have people around you anymore?"

"No to both," Chloe said, holding his eyes. "I'm not safe, and there are a lot of people around me."

Brian pulled his hand back and looked nervously around. "Chloe, what are you doing?"

She felt bad, she felt like this was a betrayal of his trust. Still, it was what she had to do.

She had gotten nothing from watching, no feelings or deception or anything like that when she touched him, so she pulled her phone out. The picture of her attacker had been sent to her, and she showed it to Brian.

"Who is this? Who are you with?" Chloe asked.

Brian stared at the picture a minute, then glared. "Why do you have this? Are you following me?"

The harshness of his reply surprised her. "No!" She quickly said. "But I need to know who it is."

"Why?"

She gave up on the 'firm' approach. Though he was acting defensive, she was convinced, again, that he knew nothing about who she really was. She could feel her face soften as looked into his glaring eyes.

"Because she's the one who shot me."

Brian's glare was gone immediately. "What?"

He was looking at the picture in Chloe's phone again, so she waited until his eyes met hers again. "Satuday night, when you found me. You found me after this woman shot me."

Brian looked confused, now. "Why would she…"

""Who is she, Brian?" Chloe interrupted. "Please, I need to know."

"Simone. My boss, my supervisor at work."

"She works for Rezza Capital?" Chloe asked, unsure if she was more upset that Whitley had kept this from her, or that Valenina seemed to be right about the company.

"Yes," Brian nodded.

"You went to an apartment, Brian." Chloe had to force herself to continue the questions – everything she saw in his expression, everything she felt, told her that he was not a party to the attacks on her. Still, she had to make sure it was the truth, not just her hope. "It was Zane's apartment. Did you know that?"

"Zane?" He asked, shaking his head. "I don't know who that is. Simone asked me to check on someone who had stopped paying rent."

"He tried to kill me, too, Brian." Chloe said, "But the people around me stopped him. They found out where he was staying, and they waited there to see who would show up."

"Why would someone try to hurt you?" Chloe couldn't read Brian's expression as he asked. His face showed none of the concern she had seen in it before, though he still looked a little confused.

"Your dad didn't tell you?" Chloe asked. "Even though he said that the people around me are protecting me?"

"You know he didn't. I told you that."

Chloe nodded. "Just checking." She raised her hand and made a 'come here' motion as she stood up. Seconds later, several people were near her.

Brian didn't recognize any of them, except Alek. Chloe seemed to wait for Alek to join her before she spoke again. "Tell your dad what I told you, especially about your boss." Then she turned and started walking away.

Brian was surprised enough that he hadn't been able to speak as watched people move to her, but when she started walking, he called out, "Chloe, what's going on?"

She didn't turn back. He was, again, frustrated with her. He knew she had been shot, but it was hard to believe that Simone would do something like that. Still, his father had said something about Chloe being protected, so she was probably telling the truth.

Brian headed for Rezza Capital, armed with new information, determined to make his father tell him what the deal was with Chloe.

* * *

><p><span>Pictures<span>

"You heard everything," Chloe told Alek. "You know he had no idea about people trying to kill me or who is involved."

"It doesn't change anything, Chloe," Alek responded. "You were attacked, Rezza Captial is involved, even if Brian wasn't."

Chloe had been taken to her meeting with Brian in a car owned by one of the other Mai. She was in the back seat, with Alek, as she was being taken home.

She knew Alek was right, though she had no idea what to do about that now. Should she try to talk to Whitley again or…

Her thoughts were interrupted by the vibration of her phone. She glanced at Alek, who had turned to look at her, but she held the phone so he could not see.

Chloe felt her expression change to shock as she saw a message, with two pictures attached.

"We need to talk – you need to come alone." The message was from a number she did not recognize.

She quickly opened the pictures. The first was of her mother, walking on a busy street, Anne beside her.

The second was of Simone.

She responded without thinking. "When & where?"

She kept the screen of the phone away from Alek as she wrapped her arms around herself, closed her eyes and leaned back while taking a couple of deep breaths.

She bit her lip as she heard Alek's "Chloe?", wondering if she could risk bringing him into this.


	14. Chapter 14

Being Chloe

"Any word on Jasmine?" Chloe asked Alek.

"Not really. Nothing new."

"No news is good news?" she asked.

"Sure, if you want her to be a vegetable." Alek said. "She's not improving."

Chloe exhaled and bit her lip. She was at home, having been dropped off after her meeting with Brian. She had asked Alek to come in with her, and asked him to have Janelle join them. They were waiting for Janelle to arrive, so Chloe was trying to make a little small talk with him, but it wasn't going well. She could only nod at his statement.

Chloe was sitting on the couch, Alek standing nearby, looking at her expectantly. She patted the couch next to her and said, "Please, Alek. Sit down while we wait."

"Not until you tell me what's going on. There are already several Mai here. Why do you want Janelle here?"

Chloe sighed and decided it would probably be easier to convince him about this before Janelle arrived. Alek and Janelle were the Mai she most trusted, the ones she wanted nearby when she met her attacker, but convincing them to let her go, to go with her, was going to be difficult.

"This is what it's about," Chole said, pulling her phone out and bringing up the message from Simone. She motioned again for Alek to sit next to her, holding out the phone.

Alek sat and took her phone. She watched him as he looked at the pictures and scrolled to see the messages that followed.

"Forty-five minutes?" Alek asked, obviously upset. "You agreed to meet her in forty-five minutes?"

Chlole nodded.

"We need to get you to away from here. We need to talk to Valentina."

"No!" Chloe quickly said. "My mom…"

"I'll call Anne," Alek interrupted. "We'll have her take your mom away."

"Alek, no." Chloe implored. "We can end all of this now."

When Alek looked at her questioningly, Chloe added, "Zane's gone. I think she knows we're on to her and I think she has nothing else."

He stared at her, hard expression on his face, as he asked "Why do you think that?"

His phone was in his hand, but he was listening to her.

"Because she has to do this – the 'come see me alone' thing. I don't think she'd do that if she had a choice."

"She'll just try to kill you again," he argued.

"She and I both know she can't kill me. When she shot me, she said she wanted to talk – if I came back to life."

"She killed you." His voice was still hard, maybe it was getting even harsher. "She knows she can, and she might know how often she needs to do it for you to stay dead."

"You'll be nearby, Alek," Chole argued. "you and Janelle. If she tries to kill me again or if I yell for help, you'll keep it from happening - more than once, at least."

He wasn't softening. "Dead recently, yet so eager to die again? I thought you said it hurt."

"Alek," Chloe said softly, closing her eyes briefly and taking a calming breath. "I want to talk to her face to face. She knows who I am, or at least suspects it. I need her to tell me why she's doing this to me."

"We already know. They want us dead – all of us."

"But you said the Order has been leaving the Mai alone – or at least not moving against the Mai openly. I want her to tell me why they're doing this to me."

Alek closed his eyes, jaw tight. "We should kill her, or at least take her." He opened his eyes and looked at her. "She killed you. We don't need to talk to her."

"I do."

"We can't risk it, Chloe." His expression was changing – he was arguing with her earnestly, but he was no longer hostile. She began to relax, to believe she was convincing him to agree to do what she wanted.

"I can risk it. I think the Uniter was given nine lives for a reason – some risks are worth taking."

He closed his eyes and took a breath. When his eyes were open again, his expression had changed, it looked almost pained. "Do you know how hard it was for me to see you after she shot you – to see the pain you were in, but to not be able to help you?"

She almost moved to touch him to try to comfort him, but held back. "You helped me, Alek."

"I don't ever want to see you like that again." He was whispering now. "Everything I do is to keep it from happening."

"I don't think it will happen." Chloe responded. "But if it does, I promise I'll be more…"

A knock at the door interrupted them. Alek was immediately up and moving towards the door, saying "Janelle."

Chloe stayed seated and watched as he opened the door to the other Mai girl.

"Thanks for coming," he said, motioning for Janelle to follow him before they walked towards the Uniter.

"Something wrong?" Janelle asked.

Chloe was grateful that there was no anger in his tone as he answered her. Maybe exasperation, but no anger. "Chloe's just…being Chloe."

* * *

><p><span>The Kia Soul<span>

Janelle was muttering to herself as they walked to the car. "This is 'Uniter Duty'? No one told me…"

She cut herself off when she saw the car Chloe was unlocking.

"We're going in that?" Janelle asked is disbelief. "We can't get another car? A bigger car?"

"This is my car," the Uniter responded.

"Shotgun," Alek claimed, climbing in.

"Is it safe?" Janelle asked.

"Perfectly." Chloe said, pointing to the door behind hers. "Get in. We need to go now."

Janelle did, though she was obviously unhappy. "First I get poisoned, then dragged to Whitley Rezza without being told, now I have to ride in the back seat of a bug…"

"Welcome to my world," Alek said, obviously amused.

"It's not that far," Chloe said, pulling away. Then she looked briefly at Alek "You know where I'll be, right?"

"Yes," he responded, no longer amused. Chloe had convinced him to only have the three of them go, but he was still unhappy about it.

"I'll take a side road. I'll let you guys off half a mile away, then go back to the main road. Hopefully…"

Alek cut her off. "We get it. As soon as you pull away from us, you'll call me. Just keep your phone on and keep talking until you see her so we know if anything changes."

"I will," Chloe promised. "We've thought this through. It'll work."

"It'll get you to her and keep us close," Janelle said, "but then…"

"Then the Uniter will figure it out." Alek said when Janelle let her voice trail off. Chloe couldn't figure out if he was being sarcastic or expressing his confidence in her.

* * *

><p><span>The Brush Off<span>

"She's not answering," Whitley said as he put his phone down. He wasn't going to leave another message for Simone – he had left two already.

Brian had been watching him make the calls. Whitley turned back to him and asked, "She sent you to the apartment of someone who tried to kill the girl?"

"Her name's Chloe, and yes – that's what Chloe told me. Then someone took pictures of me with Simone when I got back to work."

"Then the gi – Chloe, showed the pictures to you and asked who you were with."

"Yeah," Brian said. "You know, you're not really telling me anything. Why would Simone try to kill Chloe?"

Whitley studied his son briefly. He doubted he could keep information about the Mai from Brian any longer. And even though Brian had said that Chloe was keeping her distance, he was also saying that the Mai Uniter kept agreeing to meet with him. Brian was in danger – if nothing else from his ignorance of the dangers of Mai/human interaction.

The older Rezza put off the inevitable discussion a little long. "You call Simone. Maybe she'll answer for you."

Brian scowled. "I've left her a message already. If you won't tell me anything, I'll find Chloe myself." He turned to leave.

"You can't protect her. If someone can get through those around her, there's nothing you can do."

Brian was near the door now, but stopped when his father spoke. He turned around, and asked one more time. "Why would anyone try to hurt her?"

Whitley released a breath and motioned for his son to come back to his desk. "Come back. Give me her number. We'll call her."

Bran hesitantly began walking back. "Call who?"

"Chloe," Whitley said. "Her number, please," he repeated, his fingers ready to push the buttons on his desk phone.

* * *

><p><em>There might be a Chloe movie? Yay! <em>

_Some dreams do come true..._


	15. Chapter 15

The Calls

Alek just stared ahead, but Janelle glared. Chloe kept her eyes on the road and was glad that the verbal criticism, at least, had stopped. The car was silent until Alek's phone vibrated.

"Valentina," he said as he looked at the screen. Chloe shook her head, but he answered anyway.

"Yes?" He stared at Chloe as he spoke. "Yes, I'm with her. No, she's…she can't really talk right now." He cringed a little at what he heard. "I understand. As soon as we can get there."

He replaced his phone as he said, "The person in the picture I showed you – the one taken at Rezza Capital with Brian - was an Order assassin named Simone. I am to take you to Valentina immediately."

"Alek, my Mom…" Chloe began.

"Is already on her way to Valentina. Anne and two other Mai are with her." He returned to staring out the window as Chloe drove.

Janelle waited a few seconds before leaning forward to poke her head into the front seat and, asking, "So, we're turning around? Going to Valentina?"

Chloe just shook her head, Alek did not move at all.

"Chloe!" Janelle said. "An assassin."

"She already shot me. It's not a big leap. We kind of already knew that."

"Not just you," Janelle argued. "she has to have killed other Mai. Now she's after the Uniter."

"Now she's threatened my mom. Let me see what she says," Chloe insisted. "If there's trouble, you can take her out."

"Take her out," Janelle repeated, still obviously upset. "Alek and me, just the two of us."

"Three of us," Chloe corrected.

"Not if you're busy dying," the other Mai girl said. "We should have an army."

"We will," Alek said, finally speaking. "If Chloe doesn't show up or call really soon, Valentina will have an army after her."

Janelle shook her head. "I'm not winning any points with Valentina."

"Neither am I," Chloe said, sounding annoyed.

"I'm not the Uniter." Janelle said, sitting back and resuming her glare. "I need them."

At that point Chloe heard her ringtone. She answered without looking at it, keeping her eyes on the road, expecting her mother.

"Hello."

"Chloe?" She recognized Brian's voice, though he sounded a little unclear.

"Brian? What…"

"Chloe," said another voice. She recognized this one as well – it was Whitley's. "Brian tells me you showed him a picture of him and Simone."

"Yeah," Chloe replied. "Thanks for the tip about her trying to kill me."

Whitley almost sounded flustered. "Well…just stay away from her."

"I think she knows, Dad." Brian said.

"I know she threatened my mom," Chloe said. "I'm going to see her now."

"What?" Both Rezzas were speaking at the same time. "Chloe don't," she heard Brian say at the same time Whitley asked "where?"

"Why do you ask?" Chloe replied to Whitley. "Sending reinforcements?"

"She's dangerous," Whitley said. "She'll try to kill you again."

"Dad!" Chloe heard Brian say she replied. "I'm not alone. This is ending now, one way or the other."

"Chloe, she's an assassin. Tell me where you're meeting," Whitley repeated.

"Please tell us," she heard Brian add.

"Stay away, Brian," Chloe said as she pushed 'end'. She didn't hear Whitley tell Brian "Let's go. Simone is in a company car. We can track her."

Chloe glanced at Alek, afraid of what his reaction to her mentioning of Brian's name would be. She found no comfort in the fact that he didn't react at all. He just said "Let us out over there."

Chloe had been distracted enough by the calls that she hadn't realized they had arrived at the planned separation point. She pulled over, let the other Mai out of the car, took a deep breath, and drove alone to meet Simone.

* * *

><p><span>The Possibilities<span>

The Uniter was glad to see that she had timed things about right. She had driven fairly slowly to the meeting place – an abandoned two story building, giving Alek and Janelle as much time as should could to keep up with her. She sped up just before arriving right on time.

There was a car in the building's parking lot, a figure standing next to it. Chloe stopped briefly to scan the area around Simone for signs that she wasn't alone, and to give the other Mai a little more time. As she drove closer, she saw that Simone was just watching her.

Chloe resisted the urge to just ram Simone with the Kia Soul, she parked next to the Assassin, making sure she would be emerging with her car between them.

Chloe watched Simone carefully as the Uniter exited her car. She stood and stared at the Assassin for a few seconds before Simone raised both of her hands to show that they held nothing.

"You threatened my mother," Chloe accused, speaking over the hood of her car, the Soul still between them.

Simone smirked a little. "I took a picture. I asked for a meeting."

"You can't threaten my mother."

"We're not a threat to any humans. We only want to protect them."

Chloe started walking around her car now. "Protect them from me. I don't want to hurt them." She stopped and leaned against the Soul as she looked Simone in the eye. "I was raised by humans. I am one of them…us. Don't act like I'm not."

Simone shook her head. "You just don't realize who you are yet."

"Stay away from my mother." Chloe said as she glared. "I'm faster than you, stronger than you. You don't want to see a demonstration."

"I already have." Simone said, "I saw you take out three Order ruffians – before the gun took you out."

"What do you want?" Chloe demanded.

Simone nodded her head towards the building and walked past Chloe towards it. Chloe followed, trying to remain calm and ready for anything.

"A thriving business used to be located here," Simone said as she walked along the side of the building. "But the owner offended a Mai client. He had no idea who he was dealing with, until they killed him."

"If that's true, it was a long time ago," Chloe said. "This building can't have been used in the last 30 years."

"Do you think that matters?" Simone snapped. The she surprised Chloe by taking a breath. "You say you were raised human. You think you can live in both worlds."

Simone paused as if expecting a response. Chloe just stared, trying not to show that she was a little unnerved that Simone was right.

"I don't think you can," Simone continued. "The Mai won't let you.

"I don't care what you think," Chloe said, looking at the building. "I'm not going to let the Mai hurt humans."

"So naïve." Simone was smirking again. "You can't live in both worlds."

"Most Mai do fine in the human world," Chloe argued.

"Living off of humans, using them, killing them when they want. If you think that's doing fine…"

"What do you want?" Chloe interrupted.

"I want you to make a choice, Uniter. The Order may have failed to eliminate you, but if you think that means we'll stop…"

"Did you send Zane after me?" Chloe interrupted.

Simone nodded. "People you know and strangers, anyone you meet from this time forward could be sent by the Order to eliminate you. We won't stop."

"You're telling me what I already know." Chloe said. "Why did you want to talk to me?"

"Because, it doesn't have to be that way." There was still a slight smirk on Simone's face as she spoke.

"What do you mean," Chloe asked suspiciously, after a brief hesitation.

"There are two possibilities for you, Chloe," Simone explained. "Live or die…"

"You already tried to kill me," Chloe interrupted.

"I'll try again, or someone else will. Live or die, Chloe, and it will be die, unless…."

Simone let her voice trial off. Chloe glared, waited a few seconds, then finally asked "Unless what?"

"Unless you join us."

"What?" Chloe asked, sure she hadn't heard right.

"You were raised human. You say you want to protect humans. The Mai are nothing to you. You could help us eliminate them."

"You want to kill me. They protect me – from you."

"They want to use you," Simone counted. "They want to use you to kill us. They want to kill all humans, including Brian."

"That's not true." Chloe said quickly.

"So naïve. Have you never heard the Mai speak poorly of humans, never seen them try to hurt us?"

Chloe bit her lip at the accusation. "I won't let them."

"The Mai will only get stronger with you here, but you can help us. You don't have to be one of them."

Chloe shook her head, but kept here eyes on Simone. She would never have expected this. "I won't betray the Mai, and I won't let them hurt humans."

"Two possibilities, Uniter. Live or die." Simone's hand was fast as she pulled a gun from her coat pocket and held it pointing at Chloe.

Suddenly Chloe was not alone, Alek was moving towards her, trying get between Chloe and the gun. Chloe grabbed him and turned him as she heard the shots. She was afraid Alek had taken a bullet before she was able to get him turned around so that her back was to Simone, but between Alek and the Assassin.

She felt the other bullets enter her as she pushed Alek to the ground trying to hold onto him at the same time.

When he was on the ground on his back, she on top of him, she noticed the shots had stopped. She heard a "No!" from Alek as she managed to look back to see Janelle standing where Simone had been, the assassin at her feet.

The last thing Chloe saw before she was unconscious was Alek's bleeding shoulder and his terrified eyes.

* * *

><p><span>Not Wanting to Be Seen Like This<span>

The first thing the Uniter was aware of when she regained consciousness was the pain. Then she felt Alek's hand on her shoulder, but it wasn't moving, he wasn't moving.

"Alek," she whispered. He didn't react, but Janelle was suddenly kneeling beside her.

"Stay down." Janelle said softly. "Help is coming."

"But Alek…"

"He'll be OK." Janelle interrupted. "He's breathing."

Chloe nodded, closed her eyes and concentrated on controlling her own breathing, trying not to think about the pain.

Janelle was suddenly up, saying "Stay away from her!"

Chloe opened her eyes and tried to see. She heard him first, then found him with her eyes.

"Chloe!" Brian called, he had tried to reach her, but Janelle was holding him. Whitley stood next to Brian, staring at the Uniter.

"It's Ok," Chloe managed to whisper, "they can come close."

Janelle glared, but released Brian saying, "Don't touch her."

"I won't," Brian said as he approached the Uniter tentively. His father stayed by Janelle but continued staring.

Brian knelt next to Chloe and Alex, a sick look on his face.

"No!" Janelle yelled, moving to Chloe as the Uniter started to push herself up. "Stay down."

Chloe shook her head as she pushed herself into a sitting position, moving Alek's hand gently off of her, but holding on to it. She only glanced at Brian, then turned her attention back to Alek, relieved when she was able to concentrate enough to confirm that Alek was breathing.

Chloe closed her eyes briefly, only to be startled by Valentina's sharp voice at the same time she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder.

"What are you doing here?" the Pride Leader was asking Whitley as Chloe opened her eyes. Both of his hands were raised as if to say he surrendered, and he was backing away from Valentina.

"Leave him alone." Chloe said weakly, then, trying to point to Simone, added, "She's the problem "

Valentina looked away from Whitley and to Chloe, a startled look on her face. She had not paid attention to the Uniter before, and was shocked to see the pain Chloe was obviously in.

Chloe felt Kassandra's arm gently squeeze her as the Healer whispered, "Shh. Rest."

Chloe shook her head and said, "Alek needs help," as she turned to look at him, only then seeing that another Mai was already working on him.

"He'll be fine." Kassandra said softly. "I want to try to help you."

Chloe just looked desperately into the Healer's brown eyes and asked "Can you?"

"I can try," Kassandra replied as she opened her bag and pulled out a syringe.

"Did I die?" Chloe asked as she felt Kassandra pull her sleeve up and rub her arm with alcohol.

"You did," the Healer replied.

Chloe bit her lip and closed her eyes as she felt the shot, hoping it would help with the pain.

"Chloe!" Another voice the United recognized. She opened her eyes with mixed feelings, glad that her mother was here and was safe, but not really wanting her mother to see her like this.

* * *

><p><span>Epilogue<span>

"At least Brian didn't kiss me again." Chloe said.

"The boy that was there?" Kassandra asked curiously. "The human boy?"

Chloe nodded. "He kissed me last time. Then he collapsed. I thought he was dead."

She could see the Healer staring at her, looking a little confused. "He should have been. That's odd."

"But good, right?" Meredith asked.

Chloe looked at Alek who was sitting up in his bed, next to her. They were in his room. She had come to visit him the morning after her third death, and Kassandra used the opportunity to give her a quick examination.

"Good." Kassandra confirmed to Meredith, "but we should figure out the reason."

Chloe heard, but her eyes remained on Alek. He was looking so much better than when she had watched Valentina take him home with the other Mai Healer that was with them. Kassandra hadn't left Chloe's side until the Uniter confirmed that the shot had taken then pain away. It was mostly true, but the pain wasn't completely gone until she awoke that morning.

Chloe managed a small smile, leaned in, gave him a kiss on the cheek and said "Thank you," to Alek. She had thanked him before, but without the kiss.

Every time she said it, she expected a reprimand, she expected him to tell her that she shouldn't have done that. That she should have let him die to protect her. He didn't reprimand her, he had always just nodded.

He answered her this time. "Anytime, Chloe, but you know that." His voice was a little weak, she knew it would take some time for him to recover.

"I know," the Uniter said. She glanced behind her. Kassandra had started to leave the room, but was at the door, whispering to Meredith. Chloe wasn't tempted to try to hear them. She just turned her attention back to the Mai guy.

"The gun-totting bitch is gone," she said softly, trying to avoid a reprimand from her mother. "How about that date?"

Alek actually laughed softly. "There's still the Rezza's."

"I can handle them." Chloe whispered. "I'll protect you."

Alek stared at her, amused, before finally saying, "Well you did kind of save my life. I suppose one date…"

"Kind of?" Chloe asked. "Do I have to 'kind of' save to get you to go out with me?"

Alek just shrugged.

"Well, if I have to I will. I'm keeping you alive until I'm done with you – and don't think I'll be done with you anytime soon…"

The End

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for r<em>_eading. I have enjoyed writing this and my other Chloe story - "Don't Forget". I have appreciated the kind feedback I have received._

_I'm not sure I'm done with Chloe – I really hope the movie rumors are true. Either way, if any more Chloe stories show up in my head, they will be posted here._

_Thanks again…_

_John Reed_


	16. Closure

I know I'm breaking all the rules of this place. I don't really care, if they send me away and close my account I'll just get a new email address and start over again.

Or, maybe not. Sometimes I get tired of the game, and maybe it'll be what I need to make me stop. Not a decision I have to make just yet, will have to see what they do about this…

I've been very inattentive, and you may have been better than me, but in case you haven't – there's something you should see. The script for the Chloe movie (which was never actually shot) was posted last December. I missed it, but happened upon it tonight, and I loved it. I especially love the last scene. If you like "Possibilities", you probably will love movie story too. In case you haven't seen it yet it's at: alloyentertainment wp-content / uploads / 2013/09/Chloe-MOW-Final . pdf (remove the spaces...)

Not the way I really wanted to see the last little bit of the Chloe story, but at least it's closure…


End file.
